What a Conservative government could mean for SMEs
Posted on in Business News , Political News
The Conservative party has won the general election, 2015, forming a single party government. But what does it mean for small businesses?
The Conservative party repeatedly talked of SMEs being "the lifeblood of the economy" throughout their election campaign, but how will their promised policies affect these businesses over the next five years?
Regarding business rates, the Conservative Manifesto states that they will deliver a review of the rate by the end of 2015 and implement changes in time for the 2017 revaluation; this is earlier than the proposed review timetable. The Conservatives have good form on business rates with caps on annual increases, extension or rate relief, and business rates discounts (£1,500 this year). We can expect business rate reform to be part of a wider programme to support high streets and small businesses, which successive Conservative Ministers in the coalition took up as key projects.
The Conservatives also pledged that employees who are paid the National Minimum Wage and work up to 30 hours a week will not pay Income Tax on what they earn. This law would be applied from the first Budget after the election and the Personal Allowance threshold would be altered to rise in line with the National Minimum Wage. The party also suggests that it would like to see an increase in the National Minimum Wage to place it over £8 an hour by end of the decade.
Regulation has always been considered a problem for small business owners as a lot of time and resources are needed to comply with them. The Conservatives will continue to invest in cutting red-tape for small businesses. £10 billion pounds worth of regulatory steps will be stopped over the course of the next Parliament - which could save businesses an average pf £2,000 each.
The Conservatives also pledged to make it even easier for small businesses to take on the next generation of workers. Firstly National Insurance contributions for anyone under the age of 21 have been abolished - this will reduce costs for business owners and make hiring younger staff more attractive. In addition to this, the government has declared that they will create 3 million more apprenticeships for under 25s by 2020.
What do you think a Conservative Government will mean for your business? Were you happy with the outcome of the election? Let us know by commenting below.