As the dust settles on Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour Party, The Entrepreneurs Network’s Programmes Director Annabel Denham considers what his appointment might mean for UK entrepreneurs.
“On the one hand, Corbyn’s plans to freeze business rates for small businesses have been warmly welcomed, and his pre-election pledge to address the skills gap through a National Education Service was encouraging. But we can also expect policy announcements that will shift the burden of taxation from consumption to income and wealth. This might make sense from a redistribution perspective, but taxing wealth, capital and savings doesn’t make economic sense. It’s distortionary, pushing people to consume now what they would otherwise save and invest – which is bad for entrepreneurs and the process of wealth creation. As Jeff Lynn, the entrepreneur behind online crowdfunding platform Seedrs points out: “a Labour government under the leadership of someone who understands the role that wealth creation plays in social progress could be good for entrepreneurship”. The fear is, that someone isn’t Corbyn.”
Read her column in full on The Huffington Post’s Politics page here.