Taxation the key to the small business vote

Last week, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) unveiled its six key principles for a general election year telling candidates that a commitment to fairer and simpler taxes could be the key to millions of votes.

Taxation is one of the FSB’s six key principles that are based on responses to a dedicated election email address set up to allow its members to feed in their election priorities.

Red tape, employment law and crime all proved to be major concerns for business owners, but a commitment to fairer and simpler taxes for small businesses looks set to be a vote winner.

On tax, the FSB is calling on the political parties to commit to:

• A £10,000 tax free allowance for firms irrespective of status
• The state, not employers, to administer all benefit payments
• A full review of the Climate Change Levy
• The abolition of the IR35 legislation
• VAT free movement of goods between registered traders
• All business premises with a rateable value of less than £25,000 to benefit from small business rates relief
• Gross payment for small contractors under the Construction Industry Scheme
• The UK to resist further tax harmonisation across the EU and to remain outside the euro-zone.