标题: The late payment of commercial debts bill will soon become law. When it does,... [打印本页] 作者: 李老师 时间: 2021-12-2 10:58 标题: The late payment of commercial debts bill will soon become law. When it does,... The late payment of commercial debts bill will soon become law. When it does, small businesses which employ fewer than 50 people will have the right to charge a hefty rate of interest to the 1% of larger businesses that pay late.
Unless an existing contract states otherwise, invoices will have to be settled in 30 days, or the creditor will be able to charge interest at 8% over the Bank of England base rate. For habitually late payers, the penalties should act as a deterrent.
According to a survey by Grant Thornton, the speed of payment varies greatly from nation to nation. The Finns settle their invoices in 24 days, the Fanes in 35 days, the Swedes in 37, and the Germans in 38. In the UK creditors must wait almost a fortnight longer—the average payment period is 50 days. Still worse, a NatWest survey of small businesses found that one in 10 of them had 30% of their invoices unpaid after three months.
The Bill sounds like a good idea, but the small business community have their doubts. “We are skeptical,” says a spokesman from the federation of Small Businesses. “Most people won’t impose interest, and on the continent, legislation hasn’t made much difference.” In fact, some European late payment legislation has failed. For example, in Italy the average payment wait is 84 days. The Federation aims to use the Bill to raise awareness about the effects of late payment. It will publish its first league table of worst payers, compiled by Dun & Bradstreet, in the autumn and believes this naming and shaming exercise will have more impact than the legislation.
Questions:
What is the response from the small business community? （5分）
What example does the spokesman use to support his opinion? （5分）