As firms grow, taxation and, in particular, value added tax (VAT), is one of the first areas in which they must deal with government regulations. It has been argued in the United Kingdom that regulatory requirements are burdensome and can even be a constraint on the development and growth of...

Support for small businesses is often delivered separately for urban and rural areas, based on the idea that the barriers to business growth differ geographically. Yet firms in rural and urban areas will also differ in their characteristics, and these may be more important influences on firm...

Support is being provided to increase the pool of novice entrepreneurs who have no prior business ownership experience. Policymakers and practitioners are, however, considering whether to allocate resources towards portfolio and serial entrepreneurs who have prior business ownership experience....