Whereas SME and sole traders were previously put aside when it came to government assistance and support, the new government wants to focus on helping the ‘little guy’ more. This intention has already met with a response from the big companies of Klub 500, the business association of employers with over 500 employees.
Although Klub 500 agrees that the Government Manifesto would help the business environment in general, its members feel that most of its points are vague and need to be specified more. “The Manifesto does not contain our long-term demand that domestic and foreign businesses be treated equally in a legal sense, so that they can work under the same conditions free of restrictions and exemptions, whatever their size,” said Marek Lukacik from Klub 500.
The association also has its grievances though, with Lukacik saying: “The section on economic policy has no reference to large businesses with over 1,000 employees. It only deals with SME and the self-employed and appears oblivious to large businesses”.
Another wish of Klub 500 is for business entities to have the same conditions when it comes to drawing EU funds, so that big businesses aren’t excluded from this kind of assistance.
The new government seems well aware of the importance of small business and sole traders in regenerating local economy, so hopefully they will now have a better deal.