Should there be more tax breaks for Small Businesses and Sole Traders?

[AB Editor]

With small shops and businesses disappearing from our high street due to large chains, the squeeze of supermarkets and the effects of the credit crunch should government encourage small business growth by offering tax breaks to small businesses?

 

This poll is closed.

Answers:

• Yes, tax breaks could be the difference between survival and going bust for some small businesses. - 6 votes
• 75%
• All businesses should be given tax breaks in this financial climate. - 1 vote
• 13%
• No, if a business was successful it wouldn't be a small business. - 1 vote
• 13%

See final stats

Stats until: 03:27 Tue 24th Dec 2024 (Refreshed every 5 minutes)

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[Androcles]

Creating a flat paying field would be a good start........

Business rates are the first problem, together with local councils jacking up car parking charges, hitting small High Street shops, but letting the big supermarkets etc provide out of town stores with mammoth parking for free. The big supermarkets ought to have council controlled car parks, charging at the same rate as the high street car parks.

[rov1200]

There should be more breaks for the small businessman. But in the early days of the Labour government they brought in IR35 which prevented many sole traders in the computer profession from being self employed as a contractor. They were frightened that the sole trader was escaping tax and NI and regarded many of them as employees of the company they did business with.

Now they are using the same excuse to clamp down on building tradesmen who work on a sub-contract basis.

[rov1200]

Why has it always been considered the norm that to keep a company afloat they should receive handouts from the government? There is an alternative! The Scrappage scheme for cars was successful because a government handout was given to the buyer of the car. Because of the increase in demand from such a scheme it helped not only the manufacturer but the car industry in general.

Maybe this should have taught us some lessons? Reward the purchaser first!