Small businesses warn against tax hit

IoD: Tax rises ‘will be disaster for entrepreneurs’The Chancellor has been warned off increasing taxes on entrepreneurs with Jonathan Geldart, director-general of the Institute of Directors, saying they need to be put “at the heart of the recovery” instead of being burdened with higher taxes. Mr Geldart said: “Tax hikes risk choking off the economic recovery before it has even got started. It is paramount the existing package of grants, loans and reliefs is extended. A cliff-edge in support would be disastrous for business.” The IoD’s proposals for Rishi Sunak’s budget include a temporary cut in employers’ national insurance contributions, targeted business rates relief for the hardest-hit companies and extending the present measures such as furlough “as long as restrictions continue”. Investment reliefs should be enhanced and Brexit adjustment vouchers issued to help businesses with the disruptions and costs of trading with the EU. Commenting on the Government’s current agenda, Matt Kilcoyne, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, said: "The Government has shuttered the shops, the Chancellor is threatening to put up taxes on firms that survive this bleak winter, the Business Secretary is lining up to make directors liable and prosecutable for actions that they knew nothing about. It is economically unsound."