Almost half expect more local small business closures due to government’s NICs hike

EMBARGO: 22.30 Thursday 5th December

• Almost half (46%) of people expect that the number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in their local area to close will increase because of the government’s decision to raise employers’ NICs
• A further 56% of people expect prices to rise at local SMEs as a result of the tax hike
• Ahead of Small Business Saturday on the 7th December, the Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to “urgently rethink” their tax hike and scrap it for SMEs
• Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey is visiting a small business in the South West today (Friday 6th December)

Almost one in two (46%) people expect to see the number of SMEs in their local area closing to increase as a result of the NICs hike by the government, new polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The polling also showed that more than half (56%) of people think that costs will increase at local SMEs with almost one in five (18%) expecting them to increase a lot. Two-fifths (41%) of people also expect the number of jobs available at local SMEs to fall too.

Close to one in three (28%) people said that they thought the tax hike would affect their spending habits at SMEs.

Of these people, one in two (49%) said that they would be cutting back on their Christmas shopping as a result, two in five (40%) said that they would visit their local high streets less and one in three (33%) said that they would shop at larger stores.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to “urgently rethink” the tax hike and scrap it for SMEs after voting against the rise this week on Tuesday and tabling their own amendment to block it.

Today, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is expected to visit a small business in the South West to hear how the Budget will impact them. 

It comes ahead of Small Business Saturday on 7th December which is a day to celebrate small businesses and to encourage the public to support them.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the backbone of our communities. We need to be doing everything we can to support them.

“Many small businesses have already sounded the alarm over the government’s misguided national insurance hike, and this research lays bare just how worried people are about the damage it will do to local employers.

“After years of the Conservatives' economic vandalism, this is the last thing these businesses need. The new government needs to urgently scrap this jobs tax and instead focus on how they can help small businesses, not burden them with more costs.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The polling can be found here.

Methodology: Savanta interviewed 2,208 UK adults aged 18+ online between 29th November and 2nd December 2024. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region, and social grade.