Chancellor told to get serious on supporting family business

North West family firms have told Chancellor George Osborne that it's time to get serious about helping them survive another generation.

Businesses attending the Family Business Forum, organised by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Centre for Enterprise, together with the Forum for Private Business, debated the pressing challenges they face and how government can better support the growth and long-term      survival of family firms.

They identified that restrictive tax laws and low quality assistance are the key factors inhibiting family businesses, which employ two of every five people in the private sector and deliver approximately 25% of UK GDP.

At the invitation of the Chancellor, who delivered the Forum's opening address, two main recommendations have been made as part of a report produced and submitted by MMU.

The first request is that the government considers granting at least partial exemption from inheritance and capital gains taxes on family businesses. Secondly, government has been asked to establish a new Family Business Agency and Support Centre to offer the high quality assistance that family firms need.

Professor Lynn Martin, Director of MMU Centre for Enterprise, said: “talking to family business owners you quickly understand that their chief concern is leaving a successful business for the next generation. But many feel that the current tax code stands in the way of that. In addition, there is a feeling that family firms aren’t being taken seriously by government. Many felt that the advice offered to family businesses was of variable quality and some reported feeling penalised by financial institutions and other businesses.

 “George Osborne, himself,  is part of a family manufacturing business, so we hope that our proposals will hit home. Family businesses are the ‘crown jewels’ of the UK economy, but a massive 70% of these companies fail to make it to the second generation of ownership and 90% die out before the third. These recommendations aren’t just for the benefit of family firms but the UK economy as a whole”.

The Family Business report can be viewed  at:  https://mmucfe.co.uk/assets/uploads/files/family_business_report.pdf