CIPP “delighted” to see medium-sized businesses addressed in Liberal Democrats party election manifesto
CIPP
| Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP)
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) today welcomed the initiative to help medium-sized businesses as the Liberal Democrats unveiled its party manifesto ahead of the general election.
One particular area of note is the proposal to improve government support and resources for those working in medium-sized businesses with a dedicated unit in HMRC along with other proposals.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, unveiled the Liberal Democrats manifesto ahead of the upcoming general election on 7 May 2015, as the political parties enter the final weeks of campaigning.
Associate Director of Policy, Research, and Strategic Visibility, Karen Thomson, said: “This is really great news for medium-sized companies and we’re delighted to see the Liberal Democrats thinking about adding additional resources into the mix for those who might need help. As an organisation, the CIPP is already calling for HMRC to be protected from any departmental cuts and we’d like to see this area invested in, rather than depleted further.”
In addition, the CIPP welcomes the proposal to increase public spending again in line with the economy once the budget is balanced, particularly the aim of setting a target for HMRC to reduce the tax gap and to continue investing in staff to enable them to meet these targets.
Karen added: “In a move that would also bring simplification for payroll practitioners, the CIPP is also pleased to see a proposal to consider aligning the threshold for paying National Insurance contributions with that for paying income tax, recognising the need to protect low earners’ ability to accrue pension and benefit entitlements.”
However, the CIPP is calling for caution over proposals to make Shared Parental Leave a Day 1 right, allied to the introduction of a “use it or lose it” month of time off for fathers.
“Whilst this will be welcomed by many families, the CIPP is pleased to see that the impact on business is acknowledged and we’d therefore like to make sure that due consideration is given to those responsible for introducing necessary changes,” added Karen. “We’d therefore encourage the Liberal Democrats to stick to proposals to introduce these changes slowly, should they win an outright majority on 7 May, 2015.”
