EU announce Small Business Act

Pro

The Small Business Act (SBA) has been unveiled by the European Commission.

The Small Business Act contains legislative proposals such as a simplified General Block Exemption Regulation on state aid, with increased aid intensities for SMEs; a proposal on reduced value added tax (VAT) for labour intensive and/or locally supplied services; the European Private Company statute meant to facilitate cross-border trade for SMEs and a commitment to reduce late payments.

ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, welcomed the Act, describing the Act as setting the agenda for improving the status of SMEs and enhancing SME policy in Europe.

The association warned that the policies contained in the Act would only be successful when they receive the full support of all national governments, including Ireland.

According to ISME Chief Executive Mark Fielding, “while there are certain aspects of the Act that need to be clarified, in particular the environmental issue, the guiding principles should help to encourage enterprise in Ireland and throughout Europe. We are particularly pleased that the “Think Small First” principle is at the centre of this agreement, which is extremely important in the process of promoting small business. With compliance burdens up to ten times more costly for small businesses in comparison to big enterprises, this principle is particularly important”.

The Act sets out 10 guiding principles to be adopted by national authorities, which should help to simplify procedures, reduce costs and address onerous obligations and should assist SMEs trading nationally and internationally particularly across Europe.

ISME will be launching an annual Think Small Test in cooperation with its associate members across Europe with input from international organisations (OECD, EIB, ILO). This test will monitor the implementation of the 10 principles and follow up of the SBA by the Irish government. “Let us hope that we will be ‘best in class’ in this respect as we have been in all other EU legislation,” said Fielding.In conclusion, Fielding outlined that it was absolutely essential that Ireland and the other national governments adopt the Small Business Act and implement it in a timely fashion to ensure that the long awaited benefits accrue to a sector that has been the backbone not only of the Irish economy but the EU as a whole.

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