Why have hundreds of business people been rushing enthusiastically to fill out a long, complicated form?
Form-filling is the sort of time-wasting, unprofitable activity that usually has business people running angrily in the opposite direction.
This particular form is popular precisely because it gives businesses a chance to indicate just how
much time and money is taken up with form-filling and other requirements imposed by the Government.
It marks the start of what will be an annual survey, organised by Business New Zealand and KPMG, to "gauge the level of compliance costs and monitor the trends".
By a delightful irony, at the same time as the survey was being launched, Small Business Minister John Tamihere was trumpeting the Government's success in reducing the burden on business.
The enthusiastic response to the survey - 285 forms were filled out and returned in a few hours - gives a clear indication of the business verdict.
The sad truth is that Government plans for a web portal where businesses can access regulatory information, a small business summit and a special advisory panel are no substitute for actually reducing the compliance burden.
And with the exception of tax simplification - on which the Government has promised a discussion paper next month - most of the key areas of concern to business have essentially been ruled untouchable.
A year after the Government launched its compliance costs exercise the Auckland Chamber of Commerce surveyed its members on what had been achieved.
Only 1 per cent thought things had improved. But 41 per cent said compliance costs had increased a little and 44 per cent thought they had increased a lot.
So far the Government has seemed blithely unaware of the reality that a lot of its policies do place a burden on business. Obviously a lot of business people hope the new survey will help get that message through.
Let's hope they are right. The sacrifice involved in filling out an 11-page form surely deserves some reward.
