Businesses Call for Credit Relief

Many owners worry federal efforts will come too late to save their businesses, a survey finds.

Tweet

Many small-business owners are worried that credit relief won't come in time to save their businesses, according to a report released this week by George S. May International.

Of 750 owners surveyed in mid-November, 60 percent said the survival of their business depends on immediate access to credit, the Park Ridge, Ill.-based management consulting reported.

"Business owners are not as worried about a tax increase as much as they fear a lack of relief," Israel Kushnir, the firm's president, said in a statement.

Credit relief ranked highest among business owners' expectations of president-elect Barrack Obama's new administration, ahead of employee health-care initiatives and tax breaks, the survey found.

Still, over half of the survey respondents said they expect health-care costs to rise next year.

"Small business owners are the largest employer group in the United States and the cost of healthcare coverage continues to grow as a critical concern for many of them," Kushnir said.

He said small businesses needed to act now to reduce recurring expenses and fixed costs, rather than wait for government help.

Read more:

Sign-up for our Leadership and Managing Newsletter

Email Address: