Jamie Stone says small businesses need 'a big and bold offer' as Lib Dems call for tax cut
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Local MP Jamie Stone has described local shops and restaurants as "the backbone of our communities" and says they must receive support to help them through a tough winter.
Ahead of Small Business Saturday, Mr Stone and other Liberal Democrats called for taxes to be slashed on small businesses to help them save thousands of pounds a year.
The party's proposals would benefit 1000 small businesses and entrepreneurs in Mr Stone's Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency, saving them an average of £5000 annually.
It would be achieved by quadrupling the Employment Allowance to £16,000 for a period of two years. This would allow a small business to employ five people on an average salary without paying any National Insurance contributions.
The Lib Dems say some 1.1 million businesses nationwide would be eligible for this tax cut, which would save them an estimated £5.5 billion next year.
Many small businesses say they are struggling with rising costs while potential new Covid restrictions loom, according to a recent survey by the Federation of Small Businesses.
Meanwhile, the UK government has announced that small businesses will have to pay more National Insurance contributions in the new year. The Lib Dems say the plans will hit an estimated 1000 businesses in the north Highlands with "a £2.5 million tax bombshell".
Mr Stone said: “Our local shops and restaurants are the backbone of our communities and must be helped through a tough winter. Businesses in the far north are struggling with mounting bills and worries about the impact of the new Covid variant in the coming weeks.
"We need to help them now with a big and bold offer.
“It is disgraceful that local businesses in our area are being forced to pay even more tax by this Conservative government. We should help small businesses that have already suffered so much during the pandemic. That is why I am backing calls for our local businesses to receive a tax cut.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Cafés, shops and start-ups are all looking at this winter with dread, yet all Boris Johnson can muster up is a massive new tax bill. The Conservatives must be living on another planet if they think the answer to business owners’ problems is to put up their taxes.
“This country was promised tax cuts by the Conservatives, but yet again their promises have been proven not to be worth the paper they are written on.
“People and businesses need help now. I want to give our dedicated local business owners and entrepreneurs a helping hand, and to truly unleash Britain’s potential.”
The Prime Minister broke a 2019 manifesto pledge by raising employer National Insurance contributions by 1.25 per cent from April 2022, raising £12 billion a year for the NHS and social care. Mr Johnson said he had been forced to break the promise, partly because of Covid-19, pointing out that the "global pandemic was in no-one's manifesto".
Small Business Saturday (December 4 this year) is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign promoting small businesses and encouraging consumers to "shop local".
