Dan Wagner commented that he would like to see the foundations laid down to help the investment community support entrepreneurial talent in the UK. “We have some fantastic, inspirational entrepreneurs who start great businesses, but unfortunately many of them have to go abroad to get the funding they need to grow and succeed and that is a shame. Britain has great innovation across all areas and it needs to be nurtured and supported because it will be the lifeblood for the return of economic strength.”
According to Dan Wagner the small business and start-ups sector needs targeted tax incentives for investment. “We need to see real momentum behind encouraging start-ups and small businesses to grow further and faster, this will allow more exports and more jobs to be created. I would like to see capital gains tax completely removed from the funding of start-up businesses. Any funds that are invested to create opportunities and jobs should see a full capital and profit return because of the great risks involved. This would be a political saviour. Small businesses represent 50% of the economy and its new small businesses that will drive future economic growth.”
As a visionary technology entrepreneur himself, Dan Wagner sees the UK’s knack for innovation as the driving force for economic growth. “We have fantastic innovation here in the UK. We invented the World Wide Web and we should be a global leader in technology. We need to fund the start-ups and provide the right environment so investors who have earned their money and paid their taxes can risk an investment in a speculative start-up behind an entrepreneur they think might succeed. If they do this they don’t want to see their one successful investment out of the ten they have made get taxed at 30%. It doesn’t seem right.”
Speaking to business leaders in Nottingham, Carney announced a £90bn loosening of liquidity requirements on banks, in a bid to free up lending to businesses and consumers. “The Bank of England's task now is to secure the fledgling recovery, to allow it to develop into a period of sustained and robust growth,” he said.