‘Job Tax’ Masking Other Issues for Company Formation

Labour’s announcement that it planned to increase National Insurance in 2011 and its subsequent failure to retract the plan in the wake of massive opposition from the small business sector, could cost them the small business owner vote.

This is a fact that has not gone unnoticed by both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative party, both of which have used this ill conceived policy as a way to attack Labour in their election campaigns. The Conservative party have also announced plans to scrap the NI increase all together if they get elected.

However, while the so called ‘ Job Tax’ is an important issue business consultancy firm ‘ING Consultants’, have said that as a result of the political controversy surrounding this issue, other business issues are being pushed further and further down the political agenda.

Brian Cox, enterprise and tax manager at ING comments; “There are a number of challenges the small business sector faces as the country’s economic recovery is set to consolidate. Overcoming Labour’s plans to increase National Insurance by 1 % is just one of them. And yet this is the only issue our main political parties seem to be concentrating on, as part of a tacky smear campaign.”

“But beyond the spin and contrived sound bites all parties need to come out a give us a more detailed account of their broader tax and enterprise policies. At the moment all we have is loose promises; with know information on how they are going to be achieved.”

“Of course Labour’s plan to increase National Insurance was short sighted, but lets not loose sight of the fact that the plan increase was only of 1% – which is still minimal when you compare it with many other countries. But why concentrate on facts when there is an election to be won hey?!”