SMEs don’t think that income tax decisions should be devolved to national parliaments warns Vistage
Most British SME businesses do not believe national Parliaments should be allowed powers to determine their own income tax rates said Steve Gilroy, the CEO of Vistage, the leadership organisation for business owners.
In a poll of the owners of 271 larger SME businesses in October, the prospect of Scotland or other national parliaments getting tax setting powers was given a luke warm response by UK SME owners. Only 19% felt that the power to raise income tax should be devolved to regional Parliaments – whether for Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Business owners were more receptive to regional parliaments setting business rates and having control of business support and investment (37% supported each of these), and 30% supported regional parliaments having control of education and training policy.
However, while 18% of larger SME owners felt that regional parliaments should have control of “almost everything to do with business and tax matters”, this was balanced by 21% who felt the opposite and that national assemblies should have nothing to do with tax and major business matters.
The research is based on responses from 271 CEOs, MDs and owners of larger SME businesses, and was conducted in October 2014 by Vistage.
Steve Gilroy, CEO of Vistage, said: “Our research shows that many of Britain’s mittelstand business owners do not see national parliaments having great tax powers as a good thing – and certainly the prospect of them having income tax powers is not supported by 80% of respondents.
“With Scotland we are seeing policy-making on-the-hoof, with little consideration of its eventual repercussions on the rest of the country. Tax raising and greater powers for Scotland will lead to similar, and not unreasonable, demands for greater powers for other regions and for cities.
“There is a clear danger that policy created to appease one part of the country will have huge consequences for businesses in the rest of the UK who have yet to be convinced that the devolution of tax powers is a good thing.”