New research by GoDaddy and Frontier Economics suggests that “each additional microbusiness – those with fewer than 10 employees – in regions across the UK raises the median income by around £1,400”.
It adds that “an additional microbusiness per 100 people can contribute £37,000 to local GDP”.
Given how challenging the economic climate has been for small businesses, the various measures announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement should be good news for them.
The measures include ending late payments to small suppliers, offering relief on business rates, and cutting taxes for the self-employed.
Companies bidding for public contracts worth more than £5m will have to show they pay all their suppliers within an average of 55 days from next April.
This is something many including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have long been campaigning for.
There will also be business rate relief worth £4.3bn over the next five years, while some retail, hospitality, and leisure companies will benefit from an extension of a 75% rates relief scheme.
But, given that there will be an election in the earlier part of next year, will all these measures come to fruition?
We shall have to wait and see.