TWIN BUSINESS QUANDARIES!

All-new burdens as corporates navigate high taxes in addition to cost pressures

The latest LMD-PEPPERCUBE Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey has inflation and high taxes running neck and neck as the burning issues at this time, leaving business circles facing multiple concerns.

This development could be attributed to the introduction of mandatory income tax files for individuals over 18. Additionally, the value added tax (VAT) hike to 18 percent has made matters worse.

In January, 49 percent of survey participants identified inflation and high taxes as their main concerns. However, there’s been a notable rebalancing compared to December when inflation was cited by 60 percent of poll respondents and high taxes by 36 percent.

According to the survey conducted in the first week of January, interest rates continued to be a concern for businesses with 30 out of 100 participants expressing concern. This marked a four point increase from December.

The survey also highlights concerns about the financial instability of businesses and consumers (cited by 24 of the 100 participants) and political interference (15%) as the fourth and fifth most pressing issues respectively.

On a national scale, the economy is the foremost worry among businesspeople with 58 percent citing it as a concern – however, this reflects a four percentage point drop from the preceding month.

The cost of living surpassed politics and the political culture as the second most pressing issue with 53 percent saying so – that’s an 11 percent increase from December (42%).

Politics and the political culture held third spot, mirroring the prior month’s outcome (48%).

Bribery and corruption ranked fourth (29%) while the percentage of those expressing concern about poverty rose by nearly a quarter (to 24%) to take the fifth place.

 – LMD