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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I agree with most of what the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) said. We all agree that small business are our genuine potential for the future. The Government and perhaps previous Governments have gone wrong in not genuinely enabling small business to grow in the way we all want them to. Plenty of new businesses have started up but plenty have regrettably failed relatively early. Tax plays a significant part in that. Governments in recent times have attempted to change tax rates and the way in which they support small business. We have all largely tried to support the Government’s intentions. However, although we are creating small businesses, we do not sustain them for a reasonable period so that they can grow into medium-sized businesses. Far too many fail and far too many are swallowed up by larger competitors. The nurture and support that small business needs to provide the strong economy that we want has not happened. Perhaps it is indicative that tax regimes have changed and we have not got the stability for people to plan properly. Anyone who has started a small business will recognise that the first three to five years are the toughest time. The stability of the taxes that they have to pay is extremely important if they are to plan for the growth that they need. While we applaud the simplicity, we must implore the Treasury to provide stability as well.