With ASKAR SHEIBANI

Chair, DBF & CEO Comtek Network Systems UK Ltd

It's well known that our UK tax system is outdated. The UK and Welsh governments now have a unique opportunity to embark on a radical reform of the tax system.

To revive our economy, post-Brexit and Covid-19, tax can play a major role. The governments must recognise that small businesses throughout the UK are the main employers. They are also entrepreneurial, creative and can move fast to pull the country out of the recession. Until the economy has revived and starts creating the wealth and jobs, the Government has to borrow to pay for all its public commitments such as health, defence, welfare, education, etc.

The taxation system in the UK benefits large international corporations. These global organisations use their massive resources to avoid paying their fair tax and their enormous profits mainly serve their shareholders outside the United Kingdom. In contrast, small businesses pay their due tax, employ locally and any profit they generate stays within our communities.

There is a moral and economic reason to tackle this injustice. All the governments in the past have been promising to deal with the way some of these global organisations hide their income. They simply avoid paying any tax or pay as little as possible, therefore putting the burden of tax predominantly on the SMEs. It amazes me to see that all successive governments are totally powerless in forcing these international multi-billion corporations to handover their fair tax.

Now it's time to transform our tax system and legislate a true enterprise taxation system that supports our small businesses.

From April this year, some £5bn of devolved and local tax revenue raised in Wales will stay in Wales.

This will provide extra tools for the Welsh Government to be more innovative in encouraging the SMEs in Wales to concentrate on growth and job creation.

There are two big defects in the UK's tax systems;

1. The Business Rate. This is a very unfair tax that disadvantages the SME sector. Businesses have to pay this tax even if they are struggling and making a loss.

2. NI contributions. This tax system does not encourage job creation. If a business employs an individual it has to pay the government about 13% of the employees' salary for the privilege of employing an unemployed person.

The government must try to make the tax system as simple as possible.

The tax levied should only be as a percentage of the profitability of a business. It needs to reward businesses that are small but planning to invest and employ more people.

They need to come up with better and stricter enforcement tactics in collecting tax from large global corporates and closing all possible loopholes for tax avoidance.

Business Rates must be scrapped altogether, as this is killing our towns and cities.

There should be a heavy environmental tax on organisations that damage and pollute the environment.

There should be a higher transactional tax on share dealings, Hedge funds and unethical businesses such as gambling.

We need a simpler tax regime, which supports small businesses, entrepreneurship, environment and creates jobs within our communities. On the other hand, it collects a higher percentage of tax from the international offshore corporations, unethical highly profitable organisations and the environment contaminators.