Conservatives launch policies to help small businesses

The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, has launched a series of new policy proposals, specifically designed to help smaller businesses succeed.

Speaking about the launch of the new policy proposals, George Osborne said: "Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Not only do they employ over half of the entire UK workforce and generate over half of the total UK turnover, but they're also responsible for bringing new products and services to market, generating competition and expanding consumer choice."

He went on: "I believe that Government should be helping those running small businesses, not making their lives harder, as this Chancellor has done. A new direction is needed - one that helps small companies grow, instead of strangling them at birth."

The four point plan contains the following proposals:

1) Asking Lord Forsyth's Tax Reform Commission to consider the feasibility of aligning the period of charge for the national insurance and income tax systems.

2) Making it mandatory that all government bodies list available contracts on the 'Supply2gov' website so that small businesses can bid for them, and examining whether the widespread local government practice of requiring three years of accounts from bidding companies should be curbed.

3) Asking Adam Afriyie, the Chairman of the Conservative's Deregulation Taskforce, to set out clear proposals to embed a more business-oriented culture throughout government, so that civil servants develop a better understanding of the impact of new regulations on the small business community.

4) Examining proposals to increase the level of small business involvement in adult education policies, at both local and national level, and increasing the role of the business community in designing professional skills courses and qualifications.

In a separate announcement, the Conservative Party's Economic Competitive Policy Group has encouraged members to review the 19% tax rate, imposed by Labour on small business dividends in 2004.

The group, led by John Redwood, said the tax needed 'simplification or flattening' to attract more investment in small businesses.

A review of this tax will be welcomed by the UK's 4.3 million small businesses, including ByteStart!