Small business call to reduce VAT

A TARGETED VAT cut and a National Insurance Contributions (NICs) holiday must be introduced to help Britain’s entrepreneurs, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The FSB’s Voice of Small Business Index fell by 9.6 points from +0.3 to -9.3 in the third quarter as more businesses lost confidence in the economy.

John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “As businesses come to terms with the double whammy of falling revenues and rising costs, it is no wonder that they’re losing confidence, and unfortunately, as their overheads increase one way to control it is to lay off staff.

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“It is the first time since we started the index that we have seen more people believe that they’re going to lay off staff than take them on.”

Will Swift, who runs small business TaxAssist Accountants in Horsforth, near Leeds, said: “We have worked with the small business community for many years and have seen the incredible burden of excessive red tape, unsustainable policies and rising costs that many of our clients have had to endure.”

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