§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 24 July 1990]: The Government's economic policies are designed to maintain a vigorous economy in which business and enterprise can flourish. The Treasury therefore places a high priority on helping small business, and among the specific measures taken over the last 12 months have been:
an increase in the profits limit for small companies' rate of corporation tax by a third to £200,000, and the limit for marginal relief from the main rate also increased by a third to £1 million;introduction of simplified VAT registration requirements which will help keep new small businesses out of the VAT net for longer;introduction of a comprehensive bad debt relief scheme for VAT;highest permissible increase under EC law in the VAT threshold;increase in the annual investment limit under the business expansion scheme to £750,000;introduction of a simplified VAT return with five boxes for completion in place of nine;introduction of the option of three-line statements instead of full accounts for businesses with turnover of less than £10,000;improvements to the VAT cash accounting scheme for businesses with turnovers not exceeding £250,000;relaxations to the record-keeping requirements under the VAT second-hand schemes;the introduction of fast-lane procedures to reduce the time taken to clear certain EC imports;the introduction of a simplified ATA carnet.Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise officials also continuously review forms, explanatory notices and leaflets with the aim of providing guidance which is easily understood.The success of the Government's policies is demonstrated by the latest statistics on VAT registrations, which show a record increase in the number of businesses registered for VAT, around 1,700 a week on average, during 1989.