It is commonly asserted that we will have to be innovative, coming up with new solutions to the unprecedented challenges we face. Of course. The Financial Times’ Martin Sandbu has come up with such a new solution. Referencing a policy letter from the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, he writes:
‘Meanwhile, some smart new taxes can be introduced. A group of European economists has proposed helping small businesses not through loans, which can leave them overstretched in the recovery, but through grants combined with a later profit surtax — in effect mimicking government equity injections, even for sole traders and family companies.’
In effect, the Government would provide grants to businesses that would be repaid through a tax surcharge. This would be superior to loans which negatively impact a business’s balance sheets. Let’s compare a potential tax-based grant system with the SBCI’s (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland’s) ‘Working Capital Loan Scheme’.
- The SBCI scheme, open to micro-enterprises and SMEs, would provide loans of between €25,000 and €1.5 million with a maximum interest rate of 4 percent, to be repaid within three years.
- A tax-based grant scheme would provide similar loans but repayments would be based on profits – for instance, a company would pay their normal 12.5 percent corporate tax and then a 5 percent surcharge which would continue until the loan is repaid. Interest could be a marginal 0.5 percent.
The advantage to the business is that it wouldn’t be carrying debt, would only repay the loan when it was in profit, would spread out repayments as long as it took, and - if inflation exceeds 0.5 percent - the loan would be effectively written down over the medium term.
The advantage to the state is that it would recoup some of the subsidies to the business sector. This would set up a revenue stream in the years ahead, though it wouldn’t recoup all the grant money as many businesses would still go under. Nonetheless, effectively interest-free grants to be repaid over the medium-term and only out of profits, would increase the number of companies that survive. Indeed by subjecting grants to a tax surcharge, the state can invest more in business supports.
Brian Keegan writes in the Sunday Business Post (pay-walled) of the bewildering range of business supports:
‘There are at least a dozen state-supported funding options announced from the Covid-19 working capital schemes to the SME credit guarantee scheme . . for many businesses owners struggling to deal with the day-to-day practicalities of handling a collapsing business, the range of options, terms and conditions can be bewildering . . . We need simple and quick supports to cope with the Covid-19 unemployment crisis, not a complex new industry of loans, grants, tax breaks and deferrals.’
Business groups are certainly not shy in making demands on the Exchequer:
‘Retail Excellence wants the Government to waive local authority rates for 12 months, give grants equal to 60 per cent of commercial rents for the period of the emergency, offer zero per cent loans for all impacted businesses as well as putting in place a Covid-19 compensation scheme.’
Without commenting on the efficiency of any particular proposal, far-ranging business supports will be needed. Retail Excellence’s proposals could be easily wrapped up in an omnibus tax-based grant system. We now have an opportunity to rationalise business supports into three main schemes:
- Equity provision for large companies, whereby the state gets a stake in a company in exchange for equity investment
- Tax-based grants as outlined above
- Direct, non-repayable grants (e.g. Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme)
Rationalising and funding the schemes to the extent necessary to save as many businesses as possible has now become urgent. It will be more equitable and efficient (e.g. avoid loading debt on business) if we adopt the following principle:
From each business according to its ability to pay, to each business according to its need.
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