Core tip: by 2025, the global share economy output value can reach 230 billion pounds. In the fields of holiday accommodation, car sharing and car rental, the sharing economy will occupy half of the market.

Zhang Binyang, a London based reporter of reference news, reported that the penetration and influence of the Internet on economic life are increasing day by day, and the sharing economy, which relies on the Internet, is showing strong development momentum and potential. The British government is determined to "make the UK a global center of the sharing economy", and give support from the policy level to encourage the development of the sharing economy.

1. "Sharing economy" has huge potential

Statistics show that the average idle time of a car every day is 23 hours, and the average time of using an electric drill in its whole service life is about 12-13 minutes. A British website called "easycar club" allows people to rent their cars when they don't use them. Another website called "streetclub" allows people to rent their idle tools.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, about a quarter of British adults have the experience of sharing each other's assets, skills, time and other idle resources online. At present, the total output value of the global sharing economy is about 9 billion pounds (about 13.5 billion US dollars). According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global share economy output value can reach 230 billion pounds by 2025. In the fields of holiday accommodation, car sharing and car rental, the sharing economy will occupy half of the market.

Matthew Hancock, Secretary of state for business and enterprise at the Department of Commerce, said: "the sharing economy is affecting existing markets and changing the face of business. It opens the door for grassroots entrepreneurs to trade directly through the Internet, and these new markets are constantly reducing costs and promoting innovation. " "The sharing economy has huge economic potential, and the UK needs to make sure it is at the forefront of that," he added

The sharing economy not only creates new business models, but also releases the capabilities of a new generation of entrepreneurs. Sharing economy allows people to share property, resources, time and skills through the network platform. People can use their skills to create more value and work more flexible hours.

The sharing economy also provides a new way of life for people. For example, automobile is no longer a symbol of status, but a means of income generation. Sharing economy has changed many economic fields, such as accommodation, transportation, and is expanding to food, fashion and consumer electronics.

2. Government increases support

The Ministry of Commerce recently released an independent investigation report, which provides specific suggestions for the UK government to support and manage the sharing economy from a regulatory perspective.

First, we need to increase support for innovation in the sharing economy. According to the report, the UK government should support the establishment of innovation laboratories with private investment. The innovation laboratory provides financial support for sharing services, promotes sharing services to learn from each other, and studies how to make sharing economy serve more people. The central government needs to work with local governments to explore how to promote local cooperation and more effective use of each other's resources.

Secondly, establish a sharing economy online credit platform. According to the report, the construction of credit system for online transactions is crucial, and the British government can use the existing authentication system GOV.UK Verify to authenticate for sharing economy services. In addition, electronic criminal record inspection should be opened to the sharing economy platform, and the threshold and cost of opening should be reduced.

Third, the government has some preference in purchasing. The British government should update its government procurement structure so that the sharing economy platform can also enter the government procurement system. For example, in addition to traditional hotels, trains and taxis, sharing economy such as carpooling and short rental housing has also entered this system. The public sectors with resources should also study whether they can share their cars and houses with the public to save financial funds. These public sectors also need to study whether their resources can be replaced by those of the sharing economy.

Fourth, we should popularize Internet access. According to the report, the British government needs to encourage more people to access the Internet, especially the elderly, who have a lot of idle resources, and popularizing the benefits of sharing the economy to them can encourage them to improve resource utilization.

Fifth, simplify the tax system. According to the report, the UK's tax authorities need to develop guidelines for tax sharing and provide online tax calculators to help users of the sharing economy calculate the amount of tax they should pay.

In addition, the report also proposes regulatory recommendations for specific sharing economy industries. For example, for accommodation sharing, the report proposes that the supervision should be compatible with the scale of accommodation provided, and relevant departments should set clear minimum standards for health and safety for all accommodation providers, including fire safety; for traffic sharing, it is necessary to make clear that sharing behaviors such as carpooling can not take passengers as the main purpose, so as to make the boundaries between "sharing" and car rental industry clear.