TWO BUSINESSES CLOSE EVERY HOUR

Reported in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday 5th November, 2008, was an item about the number of small businesses closing every single day due to the economic downturn.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have said that its members are being pushed to the brink by a combination of slowing trade and the reluctance of the banks to loan money. This lethal combination is forcing around fifty businesses to close a day which equates to about two closures an hour for every day of the year.

In a survey of 4,633 FSB members it revealed a very “bleak picture” of the prospects of these businesses which are the back bone of the economy. As pointed out in a letter to the Telegraph recently, what small businesses want is a reduction in taxes, especially V.A.T. which unfairly stokes up the price of goods for those businesses which sell directly to the public. Sadly, because this country is shackled to the European Union and our Government is subservient to it, the lowest V.A.T. allowed by the EU is 15%. It currently stands at 17.5% with no sign of it being cut.

So, what is the answer to this mess, and to help out small businesses, which collectively employ far more people than the multinationals which the Government and the EU pander to? The answer – lose our opt-out from the EU’s working time directive!

Labour MEPs are preparing to reject calls for the UK to be exempt from this restrictive EU directive which will limit people to working no more than 48 hours per week. Although many people would be glad of the chance to put their feet up more, the reality is, especially in these harsh economic times, is that they need the overtime to pay the increased costs of living and being restricted to 48 hours will be as problematic to the workers as it will be to the small businesses which need flexibility.

If the opt-out is to continue then it must be endorsed by the European Parliament, but Labour MEPs are pushing for an amendment that would end the opt-out in three years time. All this will add even more red tape to British businesses which are being strangled by the amount of bureaucracy which has spewed ceaselessly out of the EU for years. Once again, here is a prime example of why Britain would be much better off out of the EU.