§ Mr. Hillasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the measures he has taken since he took office to encourage small businesses; and if he will give the numbers of small businesses which have taken advantage of such measures.
§ Mr. WakehamSince the Government took office, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has introduced over 20 individual measures in taxation that help to encourage small firms directly. The main schemes and initiatives concerned are:
- 1. Business Start-up Scheme
- 2. Venture Capital Scheme
- 3. Reductions in the weight of Small Companies Corporation Tax
- 4. Small Workshop Scheme
- 5. Increases in the threshold below which small traders do not have to register for VAT
- 6. Other tax reliefs eg on pre-trading expenditure and on interest on borrowing to invest in close companies
The Secretaries of State for Employment, Environment, Industry, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Trade and Wales have also introduced a large number of measures to assist small firms. In total over 50 measures designed specifically to help small firms have been implemented, and some 40 more which help indirectly.
It is not possible to estimate the total number of businesses helped by such Government measures. There is no means of identifying those taking advantage of lower tax payment, for example, and many small businesses, in order to expand, will have benefited from more than one Government initiative.