Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- Consumer confidence at lowest level in recent years: Consumer confidence in Ireland has fallen to its lowest level in recent years, according to the latest assessment by IIB Bank and the ESRI.
- Ministers renew attack on income shifting: The government’s controversial income shifting proposals, which provoked intense protests from small businesses, are being revived by the Treasury, it has been claimed.
- Bank offers £50m lifeline to small businesses in the North: People in the North wanting to set up or expand small businesses were thrown a multimillion-pound lifeline today.
- SFA forecasts flat job creation in 2008: Job creation in small businesses is set to remain tight this year as high labour costs undermine competitiveness, according to a new report published today.
- FSB wants free Town centre Parking: Excessive parking fees and fines from town centre car parking facilities will kill High Street businesses, the Federation of Small Businesses FSB has warned local authorities. Income from town centre parking in 2005 raised a staggering £1.6billion for local authorities, rising from just £628million in 1997.
- Forcing employers to pay for loss of 10p income tax rate unacceptable, says FPB: The FPB is calling on the Government to rethink its plans to force employers to pay for the loss of the 10p rate of income tax by increasing the National Minimum Wage. The move is likely to compel smaller businesses to put up their prices, and could lead to greater unemployment.
- Workers bill ‘unwarranted,unworkable and unwelcome’: n a submission presented today to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Small Business & Enterprise ISME outlined its opposition to the proposed bill on agency workers calling it “unwarranted, unworkable and unwelcome”.
- Grocery sector inquiry is a failure says FSB: The Federation of Small Businesses said that small, independent shops have been let down by the Competition Commission in its inquiry into the grocery sector.
As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.
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