Want to start a new business? Maybe not!

[thomvic]

Just received a newsletter from Nikki Sinclaire - MEP for West Midlands. In it she says

"A Burden on Small Business

A Commission proposal that could stifle British entrepreneurship was amended and passed by the European Parliament this week. The proposal will require anybody seeking to register a company in any EU member state to deposit a surety of €25,000 before they begin trading.
A similar rule already applies in Belgium, where red tape and high taxes force many into the black economy."

I haven't yet found anything else about this -have you? What do you think of the proposal? Seems like a bummer to me.

Richard

 

[theartfulbodger]

uh oh

look where the underground economy left Greece and Spain!


http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2011 ... t-but.html

 

[geertswaans]

there was a similar rule in Holland, but this was only if you started a ltd. It didn't prevent any dodgy businesses as you only needed the money on the day you opened the ltd at the solicitor. Now that rule has been scrapped.
Think it had something to do to make sure businesses have viable funds when they start, but I never thought much of it!
just go as a sole trader!

 

[wobblycogs]

It's a totally idiotic, poorly through through and unenforcable law so no doubt we'll have it by lunch time tomorrow.

As geertswaans says, you put the money into the company to start it and then just take it straight back out. Really though what does is mean, that a company must have that much money in the back at all time? That would just make 25k the new zero for any company playing by the rules. For larger companies it doesn't provide any disincentive to rip of it's customers either.

Much as I despise our politicians in reality I think even they would kick up a stink at this. That's not to say I don't think businesses need better control but this is just silly (and I say this as a small business owner).

 

[theartfulbodger]

Looks like the "charge" is for Companies and not Businesses. :wink: Sole traders, Partnerships, could well escape this.

 

[bugbear]

Just received a newsletter from Nikki Sinclaire - MEP for West Midlands. In it she says

"A Burden on Small Business

A Commission proposal that could stifle British entrepreneurship was amended and passed by the European Parliament this week. The proposal will require anybody seeking to register a company in any EU member state to deposit a surety of €25,000 before they begin trading.
A similar rule already applies in Belgium, where red tape and high taxes force many into the black economy."

I haven't yet found anything else about this -have you? What do you think of the proposal? Seems like a bummer to me.

Richard

Got a reference other than a quote from a UKIP MP for that?

I mean, it may be accurate, but the source is biased by definition.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

Apparently it's proposed for limited companies, not for all businesses.
Perhaps a good idea - limited companies get amazing privileges the main one being the freedom to walk away from debt if things go wrong, even if the shareholders are rolling in it. This is a licence for incompetence and corruption and we regularly see the consequences impacting on other traders and individuals quite innocently caught up in it.
Some reform is long overdue.

 

[thomvic]

HI Bugbear

As I said "haven't yet found anything else about this -have you?"
Not spotted anything in today's paper either.
Richard

 

[wobblycogs]

While I agree we desperately need reform of limited companies we mustn't forget that the vast majority of limited companies are, for the most part, ethical and fair. It seems harsh to effectively punish the good companies in order to get at the very small number that are playing the system. I'm not saying I know what the solution is but I'm sure this isn't it.

 

[Dibs-h]

It won't make a jot of difference in many cases. Millions of "off the shelf" companies exist that have\were registered by agents and are now dormant. Folk "buy" these and then just change the name and start trading.

Bloody waste of time and incompetent if such legislation is enacted here. Just another confirmation that Westminster is out of touch with the rest of the country and we've just reverted back to Peasants\Serfs and Lords - albeit by another name.

Dibs

 

[Boatfixer]

Has anyone found any other reference to this apart from a letter from UKIP MP? I'm not saying it hasn't been proposed but I would like to see another less biased source....
Graham