When Your Business Community (YBC) came into being in 2014 we had several ambitions. To become a real voice for the real SME sector was one of them. In many speeches since I’ve stated that, despite there being around 5 million self employed people and 2 million director led small businesses, we are an invisible community. This is never more true than now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5piUAIKrvg
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is to be applauded for his prompt action in making provision for employees and self employed people but hasn’t gone nearly far enough. There are millions of people that have fallen through the gaps in the schemes which make his claim of covering 95 percent of people ridiculous.
No consideration has been given to investments that hard working entrepreneurs have put into their businesses, fixed costs that have to be paid no matter what or the way that directors pay themselves (via dividends as well as salary).
Something has to happen for 2 reasons. There are lots of people that can’t put food on their plates right now and humanitarian action needs to be taken promptly to avert a national crisis. If this isn’t addressed then poverty could lead to dire consequences to add to what we’re already seeing.
Secondly, without the further support that is so desperately needed, when we eventually come back to normal, so many businesses will have closed permanently which will mean their owners will become unemployed.
The debt that has been created so far will take years to pay back too and will inevitably lead to a rise in income tax and VAT. That will mean that even those that aren’t eligible for grants will be repaying it which is totally unfair.
Are we really living in a society that is prepared to leave millions of heroic people destitute.
This simply cannot be allowed to continue.