As part of its long term economic plan the Government has brought the Enterprise Bill for its Second Reading in the Commons. The Bill will boost apprenticeships across the country to tackle our productivity challenges, check the regulation of small business, and drive economic growth, all to boost people’s pay and the country’s prosperity.
In the debate, I spoke in favour of further reducing the tax and regulatory burden on businesses. I also pointed out to fellow Members that the tax code “runs to 20,000 pages and comes in several volumes”. If I, as a chartered accountant who has worked with it for years, find it “mind-boggling” then it is obviously time to tackle this “brake on economic growth”.
There is positive intent behind the Government’s bill, but I want to see a great deal more progress made on deregulation and tax simplification. As a small business founder and owner myself, I’m acutely aware of the costs of over regulation and the impact it has on smaller firms which larger companies can take in their stride. Smaller companies are our economy’s engine room and the source of so much innovation and sensible long term planning. This should be at the top of the Government’s priorities for boosting economic growth and people’s incomes.
I will continue to make the vital case for backing small businesses in Parliament and to my colleagues in the House of Commons to keep our economy strong.