来源：《每日电讯报》
原文刊登日期：2021年6月30日
Legislation to introduce a new state subsidy system for businesses to replace EU schemes has been hailed by ministers as a further example of the UK’s post-Brexit economic freedoms. The aim of the Subsidy Control Bill is to make access to financial support more flexible and less bureaucratic than hitherto. It will usher in an aid regime designed to target the Government’s domestic priorities, such as “levelling up” and reducing carbon emissions. There are obvious dangers in using subsidies to meet political targets. The history of propping up lame ducks, especially in the 1970s, should give us pause.
为企业引入新的国家补贴制度、以取代欧盟计划的立法，受到英国部长们的欢迎，称这是英国退欧后经济自由的又一个例证。《补贴管制条例草案》的目的，是使获得财政资助的途径比以往更灵活，更少官僚主义。它将引入一个援助机制，以政府的国内优先事项为目标，如“均衡发展”和减少碳排放。利用补贴来实现政治目标存在明显的危险。支撑跛脚鸭的历史，尤其是在20世纪70年代，应该使我们认真考虑。
There is a place for state subsidies, whether grants, loans or guarantees, to encourage start-up businesses, especially in new technologies. Greater freedom to choose the right companies in the most promising sectors is to be welcomed if good value for the taxpayer can be demonstrated. The fact is that countries such as Germany and France spend far more on state aid to business notwithstanding the EU’s rules.
国家补贴，无论是拨款、贷款还是担保，都可以鼓励创业，特别是在新技术领域。如果能证明对纳税人有好处，那么在最有前途的领域选择合适公司的更大自由将受到欢迎。事实是，尽管有欧盟的规定，德国和法国等国在政府对企业的援助上花的钱要多得多。
The new system will prohibit the awarding of subsidies resulting in the relocation of jobs and economic activity from one part of the UK to another to stop big companies playing off the regions, towns, and cities of the UK against each other. Whether this will survive contact with the requirements of the “levelling up” agenda remains to be seen. But there is another aspect to business support that needs to be much more urgently addressed. What will happen when the loans that have helped companies through the pandemic come up for repayment next year?
新制度发放的补贴将禁止：工作和经济活动从英国的一个地区转移到另一个地区，让大公司挑拨英国的地区、城镇和城市之间的竞争。这是否能经得起“均衡发展”议程的要求，仍有待观察。但是，对于企业支持，还有一个更迫切需要解决的方面。当帮助企业度过新冠大流行的贷款明年到期偿还时，将会发生什么？
More than 1.6 million businesses have received some £80 billion in state-backed loans on which the Government pays the first 12 months of interest which is capped at 2.5 per cent. Repayments do not have to start being made for a year. Even with easy and extended repayment terms many businesses may find it hard to continue once they need to find the money to pay the loans back. By the time of the Budget next spring this is likely to be a major headache for the Chancellor. He will face pressure to write off loans or extend the repayment terms to keep companies afloat.
超过160万家企业获得了约800亿英镑的政府担保贷款，政府将支付前12个月的利息，利息上限为2.5%。这些贷款无需在一年内开始还款。即使有了宽松和延长的还款期，许多企业可能会发现，一旦他们需要找到资金偿还贷款，就很难继续经营下去。到明年春天预算案出台时，这可能是财政大臣最头疼的问题。他将面临注销贷款或延长还款期限以减轻公司生存的压力。
The enormous cost to the Treasury of the coronavirus lockdowns puts the vaunted new state subsidy regime into some sort of perspective.
财政部因抗击新冠病毒而付出的巨大成本，让人们对吹嘘的新国家补贴制度有了某种看法。