What could the upcoming general election mean for your business?

With the general election now happening on 4th July 2024, it is safe to say that this year will see a tremendous amount of coverage from political parties on what their manifesto will contain and of course, when a new government is announced when they plan to put this in place.

Whatever your political allegiance, the general election will ultimately have an impact on the business world. As a result, the Ellis & Co team has taken a look at what the forthcoming election could mean for UK businesses…

Political uncertainty

Unfortunately, until the election has been determined, we expect to see political uncertainty. And, as it has previously, this is something that is bound to impact upon businesses throughout the UK, due to their inability to appropriately make informed decisions for investments and long-term strategies based on government policy.

On the plus side, following the general election, stability will likely return and therefore business confidence will rise in line with this.

Taxation

Again, whilst we don’t know for certain what each parties’ manifesto will contain with regards to taxation, we can assume that the incoming government will have some changes on the way for Capital Gains, Corporation Tax, Income Tax and VAT.

Of course, this isn’t something that will be introduced overnight, therefore businesses will have time to prepare for any increase (or decrease) in these areas with the support of their chosen Chartered Accountant.

Regulatory impact

Regulations are often subject to change following a general election in any number of areas, whether that be industry-specific, labour laws, environmental regulations and so on.

These changes will obviously impact businesses differently depending on the way in which they operate and the industry they’re in, but ultimately ensuring that your business is compliant will likely lead to additional costs for training, new systems or in seeking support.

As we have discussed above, the general election will mean change for businesses (be it large or small), therefore understanding the manifesto of each party will help significantly in preparing for any potential outcome.

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