Eight years ago, 21 tax and legal measures to help small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) survive changes of ownership were
set out in a European Commission Recommendation. However, fewer
than half of the 21 measures are in place in the Member States,
according to a report published today.
The report, published by the European Commission, instructs
Member States to step up their efforts to create an environment
favourable to business transfers. It found that implementation
across the EU is varied. Greece implemented just two of the 21
measures; the Netherlands performed best, with 16 measures in
place.
According to the Commission, an estimated third of all EU
companies will change hands over the next 10 years (from 25-40%,
depending on the Member State). This means an average of 610,000
SMEs will change hands each year (potentially affecting 2.4 million
jobs).
The recommendations of the report include the creation of a
European sellers and buyers database/marketplace, to link up
existing national databases and encourage countries that do not yet
have such data bases to set them up, and also launching publicly
initiated support programmes and research on business
transfers.
The Commission's 1994 Recommendation addresses special rules for
inheritance and gift taxes, transfers to third parties, transfers
to employees, tax relief for early retirement and tax relief on
money that is reinvested in another SME.
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