Yes I know there is too much legislation already. Indeed I read that it is Steve Hilton's idea for the Tories to pass NO new legislation during a first term. A very good idea too but one that shows that Hilton is, at the end of the day, a blue skies man and not a pol.
Anyway, what do we need an Entrepreneurs Bill. Well, we need, at the end of the Brown-era to rediscover enterprise. Now that there are no jobs, we need, as we did in the 80s, to encourage a new generation of people to have a go in business. To do this we have, again, to create a culture of entrepreneurship, a buzz and energy about it that has been missing in this era of Easy-Job.
What would be in it? Five things. First, everyone setting up a new business would be given a one-off payment of £4000. Just enough to get a laptop, a landline and the time to win your first order. Secondly, there should be no tax (0%) on all new businesses for their first five years. People setting up businesses shouldn't have to worry about the taxman. They need every penny they can get.
Thirdly, there should be tax-breaks for Angel investors. Angels give start-ups the help they desperately need when nobody else is there. Fourthly, nobody running a small business should have to put their home up as security. The state should stand behind small business people as solidly as it stood behind the banks. Take away the punitive risks associated with business-failure and many more people will be liberated to take risks.
Fifth, the old chestnut, red tape. Employees of new businesses will waive their employment rights for a further year. New businesses will not to be VAT registered for three years.
This may not even need legislation. But a bill setting all his out would see thousands of new ventures spring up overnight, reducing the dole queue and liberating the energy of tens of thousands of people to set up the businesses whose taxes will eventually pay our way out of this mess.
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