Leading Entrepreneur Tells Chancellor 'Don’t Penalise Small Firms...' Serial entrepreneur Stefan Töpfer, “dot.com” millionaire and CEO of www.WinWeb.com the international online office provider, has joined calls for the Chancellor to give a lifeline to small companies in his Pre-Budget Report due on 9th December. The London based international businessman says that there is a severe danger of the government pumping money into the banks and into big business like the car industry but leaving small firms to pay the price. Töpfer says, “I am talking to small firms in the UK every day and many are at the end of their tether, uncertain what the government has in store for them. It is unbelievable that these businesses are currently faced with the prospect of increasing levels of Corporation Tax and of National Insurance contributions for their employees. The chancellor must take the opportunity of his Pre-budget Report to clarify what tax regime small companies are going to face over the next two years and to ensure that it is helping them recover from this damaging recession. How else they can plan their way out of the very tough environment they find themselves in? Corporation tax for small companies should be at least frozen at its present level for the next two years and ideally cut back to its historical level of 20%. Any increase in employers’ National Insurance should be held off for at least 12 months after the UK emerges from recession. ” Töpfer is convinced that there is a danger that small firms will bear the brunt of tax increases simply because they do not have the lobbying clout of big business and banks. He says, “Small firms make up 93% of the businesses in this country but because they are small and diverse, have little or no power to get their voice heard by government and the media. The small businesses of the UK are the victims of this international crisis at every turn, they were innocents in the banking crisis yet now face a banking regime unwilling to support their credit needs and, worse still, also face a government that looks intent to tax small business to pay for big business errors. If the government makes the mistake of penalising small firms, simply because they have no voice, then the damage to the business base of this country could be very significant. ” Stefan Töpfer is a fresh voice on small business issues, albeit that he is already a successful serial entrepreneur. He has a broader perspective than most, being able to comment on:
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IESE Business School: Question Your Assumptions
In a Continuous Education session held recently at IESE Business School, Professor Jeffery Pfeffer, visiting from Stanford GSB shared his insights and recommendations on how to achieve good management practices with students, alumni, and professors.
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