To say that business owners up and down the UK are continuing to fret about the impact the current uncertain economic situation could have on their firms would be quite the understatement. Indeed, we recently reported on the TS Partners blog that escalating energy and fuel costs could imperil the future of more than half of the country’s small businesses.
However, it appears from other recent research that there are also plenty of entrepreneurs in the UK who aren’t quite so anxious about the impacts of the last few years on their firms.
Indeed, according to survey results cited by the HRnewswebsite, almost half – 48.2% – of UK entrepreneurs believe that the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have barely affected their businesses.
Signs of hope for small businesses despite looming challenges
The research findings, which came from a well-known provider of cloud accounting software for small businesses, included 70% of UK firms believing that they wouldn’t need to look for additional funding to protect their business over the coming 12 months. This is despite such challenges as escalating costs and political uncertainty in the UK, which – at the time of typing – was still waiting for its next Prime Minister to be named.
Some 43% of those responding to the poll said that they thought their business would perform about as well over the coming 12 months as it had done during the previous 12 months.
28% of participants in the research even went as far as saying that they anticipated their firm would do better than it has done during the past 12 months, all of which points to the UK small business community continuing to have a lot of hope and resilience.
What do UK small businesses want from the Government?
With small firms accounting for 99.9% of the UK’s business population, there is little dispute that enhanced government support will be required to help many such businesses make their way through this current tricky period of political uncertainty and probable recession.
The survey respondents put forward a series of suggestions for how the Government could support small firms. 72% indicated that they wished to see a lowering of business taxes for freelancers and small businesses, while a greater crackdown on tax evasion and/or avoidance by multinational businesses was wanted by 68% of those quizzed.
Slightly lower-level priorities, as far as possible small-business support options were concerned, included the implementation of enhanced statutory protection for the self-employed concerning such rights as pensions, sick leave, and maternity pay (46%), and more financial aid and/or incentives for people starting a business (36%). 35% of the research participants wanted to see the IR35 – otherwise known as “off-payroll” – legislation scrapped.
Could your firm be better placed to navigate the ongoing turmoil with our help?
Whatever the prospects look like for your own small business for the next 12 months or longer, the fact that you are reading this indicates that you may be appreciative of suitably tailored HMRC help for business in Plymouth, Wellington, or Newton Abbot this year.
Why not get in touch with us at your closest TS Partners office so we can have a more detailed discussion with you on how we could help your business keep on top of its finances through the continued economic tests to come?
Comments (1)