Research conducted by the Forum of Private Business shows that the cost of red tape has reached a staggering £16.8 billion, or an average of £14,200 per firm. This is despite the government’s promise of a ‘red tape revolution’. A few of the many interesting results from the survey are the following:

• Small employers share a burden of £5.1 billion per year due to tax-related regulation, the largest regulatory burden.
• The responses of the Forum members suggest a loss of £29.8 billion due to missed business opportunities caused by red tape and the administrative work linked to it.
• 21% of the respondents claim to have performed worse as a result of ‘the time and cost they spend on compliance’.

The conclusion is that businesses...

...are concerned that overall legal requirements placed on smaller employers have increased since the Coalition came to power. There also appears to have been no improvement in the guidance, explanation and support small firms are given when new laws are introduced.

This is unfortunate on its own, but even more unfortunate at a time where we really need private sector growth.