Dividend tax raid

Raid on dividend income an attack on small businessesCommenting on the increase in dividend taxes announced by Boris Johnson yesterday, Kitty Ussher, a former Labour City minister who is now chief economist at the Institute of Directors, accused ministers of targeting smaller company bosses who rely on dividend income. She said: “This Government has shown through its actions a total lack of understanding of the very real difficulties faced by owners of the smallest businesses in Britain.” Elsewhere, Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that chief executives who fought to avoid laying off staff at the height of lockdown are now being punished for this loyalty. He said: “These hikes will have business owners and sole traders feeling demoralised at the point when they’re trying to recover from the most difficult 18 months of their professional lives. For those thinking about starting up, they send completely the wrong message. This move marks an anti-jobs, anti-small business, anti-start up manifesto breach.”