A new survey from the FSB confirms that small businesses would be more willing to take on staff if the coalition reduced employers National Insurance Contributions.
Despite various blunders by HMRC last year that affected umbrella company contractors, the department still spent nearly £800,000 more on bonus payments to staff than it paid out the previous year.
Any contractors currently at work in the UK as either limited companies or sole traders may be interested in a new series of figures recently published by HM Revenue & Customs.
Nearly 150,000 small businesses in the UK are facing fears that they may become insolvent if they cannot maintain their contracts with the public sector.
In a recent announcement by the Government, its Spending Challenge has borne fruit in that three ideas submitted to it through both public sector workers and members of the public will soon be implemented as new governmental policy.
On Tuesday the government published their proposed amendments to the travel and subsistence expenses scheme for workers receiving the National Minimum Wage.
The FSB had urged George Osborne to give small businesses time to implement any changes to the VAT rate and he did indeed do so in his budget speech yesterday.
The REC is understandably delighted that George Osborne has reversed part of the plan to increase NICs. They had opposed the move, as had all business bodies, as the potential cost would have prevented the jobs market recovering fully from the recession.
Small businesses, limited company contractors and umbrella companies could be among those affected by a drop in confidence following the result of yesterday's hung parliament election.
According to the Conservatives, the proposed 1% increase in National Insurance Contributions will result in the loss of nearly 60,000 jobs from the UK economy. This figure was cited in their election manifesto, published on Tuesday.