Backing Small Business white paper

BACKING SMALL BUSINESS

40 PROPOSALS FROM YOUTH EPP TO SUPPORT EUROPE’S SMALL BUSINESSES

Why small is big.

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THE OF THE SINGLE MARKET

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UNLEASHING THE POWER OF THE SINGLE MARKET

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There are still too many barriers to the internal market. Labour mobility and flexibility, trade, innovation and growth all suffer from restrictions and unnecessary regulations. As a market with 505 million people, the EU has enormous unrealised potential and can restore economic growth by unleashing the power of the single market.

SMEs are at the core of this.

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We call for:

•We call for more effective national systems of registration for small businesses

•Updating regulations of the Trans-European

Transport Network (TEN-T) for better investment in roads and opening up the market for trans-border high-speed rail networks, bringing down transport costs so small businesses can reach more markets easier

•Creating a single telecoms market in Europe and cutting roaming costs by implementing the digital single market, bringing down the cost of doing business over the Internet. This could boost the EU economy up to 4% by 2020

•Adjusting the data protection rules that place

unreasonable costs on small businesses and apply a single set of rules across the EU

•Implementing the ‘Services Directive’ across the EU to lift remaining restrictions in the services markets

•Opening up the single market for online shopping by capping credit card fees and improving the information flow for parcel delivery and returns across borders to work more effectively

•Implementation of the pan-European digital signature scheme

ACCESS TO CREDIT Europe is as strong as it’s weaker link, so financial stability throughout the EU is a vital condition for a healthy euro. European banks should be there for the small businesses and entrepreneurs, to support their new ideas, new products, new ventures and to restore confidence in a healthy euro.

We call for:

•Improving liquidity and access to

loans, with the availability of a fixed interest rate loan to SMEs through the European Investment Bank

•Increasing the availability of

microcredit through commercial banks and accredited micro-finance organisations with the financial support and guarantee of the European Investment Fund

•Offering tax incentives to encourage

investors to participate in business angel networks, business angel funds and venture capital funds for small businesses. The incentives should be based on the level of investment

•Exempting small businesses from the rules governing the sale of shares in Europe, which make it expensive to raise capital through the stock market

LOWER & SIMPLER TAXATION

We cannot ask of European businesses to take risks and start up a business when our taxation system penalises success and job creation. We need to give them the opportunity to grow in a friendly and fair environment, to bring jobs back home and help them become more competitive.

We call for:

•Lowering taxation for small businesses and giving tax incentives for job creation and exports

•Simplifying filing for tax records using electronic governance to reduce costs and save time

•Promoting simpler, more transparent and fairer taxation systems across Europe

•Auditing and reviewing legislation on the principle of avoiding double taxation

•Implement a one-tax principle, merging multiple taxes on the same activity

•Dropping proposals to extend reporting

requirements to non-listed small companies

•Trans-national taxation agreements to implement

the ‘single tax principle’ so that cross border income is taxed only once

•Scrap fixed tariffs for self-employed people and personal companies and link taxation solely to revenue

REDUCING BUREAUCRACY & REGULATION European entrepreneurs have proven that they can create world-class services and products as long as the state does not stand in their way.

Better services for small businesses across Europe will allow them to focus on what they do best, while also leading to cost savings for both businesses and the state.

We call for:

•Facilitating the introduction of electronic

governance in public administrations, social insurance services, tax systems, healthcare and procurement systems across all member states

•Implement electronic invoicing and billing by making it mandatory in public-private collaboration. This could lead to savings of €10 to €20 billion annually

•Applying the principle that information is

collected from small businesses only once, in due respect of data protection rules

•Simplify and update bankruptcy laws to

allow firms to restructure with a number of mechanisms such as debt-to-equity swaps, opening the door to new investors

•Speed-up the completion of pending trade

agreements with the US, ASEAN countries, Canada, the Gulf countries and India, to break down the barriers that make it difficult for our small businesses to reach new markets

REDUCING OPERATING COSTS Excessive regulation in the European Union is placing a huge cost and time burden on small businesses, stopping their growth.

At the same time their global competitors are operating in friendlier, simpler and more flexible environments, without facing these additional costs.

We call for:

•Implementing the ‘Fighting Late Payments’ directive so that payments to small businesses are made in a period of 30 to 60 days, so their cash-flow position is improved

•Exempting small businesses from having to designate a

Data Protection Officer or carry an expensive Data Protection Impact Assessment

•Small businesses operating in certain low risk environments should only be required to keep basic written Health and Safety risk assessments. This could save up to €2.7 billion across the EU

•Facilitating the procedure of licensing for new products so that it’s more straightforward and faster, lowering the costs for new product development of small businesses

•Auditing existing and pending regulations to address those that place a burden on small businesses, increasing the work of REFIT

•Creating a single market for energy will help lower prices, making it more affordable to pay energy bills

•Implementing the Pan-European digital signature •The creation of a European network of incubators to house

new SMEs and supervise their bureaucratic procedures, supported by the European Business and Innovation Network.

Corporations would be incentivised to participate with tax reliefs based on their level of participation and involvement with mentoring small businesses

ACCESS TO TALENT There is a growing gap between the needs of employers and the skills of employees. 26% of employers in Europe are unable to fill job positions with the right skills and talent, while European entrepreneurs continuously leave the continent in hope of realising their success stories abroad. Today, 50000 Germans work in Silicon Valley while 500 startups in San Francisco were founded by French nationals.

We call for:

•Physical presence of EURES in

national employment services listing job vacancies from across the EU, so that small businesses can find the right people to hire without incurring the high costs of cross EU border recruiting

•More flexibility for companies to hire within the single market, as well as for them to let employees go on the basis of need and under-performance

•Offering ‘Digital Certificates in

educational institutions and accrediting vocational training with Europass certificates to make identifying skills and talent easier to employers, lowering hiring costs and reducing time spent on looking for the right people

•Link specific grants to education

institutions that include entrepreneurship and skill-building courses to their curricula, incentivising skill-based education

•Alleviating the fear for failure with

informational campaigns and through education

Let’s deliver the reforms our continent needs, to build a stronger and more competitive economy. We stand against more spending, more borrowing and more debt that puts Europe in danger. That is why we are proposing specific and concrete measures that will allow small businesses to operate in a friendly environment, drive growth and create jobs throughout Europe. They include simple things, tough choices and a lot of common sense that we can all agree on.

We call for strong leadership from the European Institutions, along with political will from the Member States, to implement the measures and recommendations required to sweep away the barriers that burden our small businesses.

Let’s deliver the reforms our continent needs, to build a stronger and more competitive economy. We stand against more spending, more borrowing and more debt that puts Europe in danger. That is why we are proposing specific and concrete measures that will allow small businesses to operate in a friendly environment, drive growth and create jobs throughout Europe. They include simple things, tough choices and a lot of common sense that we can all agree on.

We call for strong leadership from the European Institutions, along with political will from the Member States, to implement the measures and recommendations required to sweep away the barriers that burden our small businesses.

youthepp.eu/smallbusiness