Small Business Matters

Budget puts small business Britain in the spotlight

George Osborne delivered a fairly enterprise-friendly Budget, but it wasn’t all good news for small business owners.

As promised, the Chancellor cut corporation tax with a 2% reduction from April 2011 instead of the originally planned 1%. It will then fall by 1% in each of the next three years to reach 23% by 2014. The small companies’ rate will also decrease from 21% to 20% next month as previously announced. It was also encouraging to hear that the small business rate relief holiday is to be extended by one year to October 2012 and the 1p cut in fuel duty will certainly help many small businesses. Red tape is also going to be reduced for small businesses with 10 employees or fewer who will be able to take advantage of a three year freeze on new UK regulations.

What does Small Business Britain want from the Budget?

It is that time of the year again when the famous red leather briefcase comes out and the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes his Budget announcement for the fiscal year. Budget Day is always full of interest for small businesses but this year the anticipation seems greater. That is because in the run up to the broadcast tomorrow, the coalition Government has been assuring small business Britain that it will bring in measures to support them and drive entrepreneurship. Now the moment is upon us, many small businesses are waiting to see if the government delivers on its promises.

Putting all the hype and media speculation aside, there are a number of measures the Government could introduce to really help small businesses grow. These include initiatives to ease the tax burden on small businesses such as a reversal of the rise in national insurance contributions by employers, reversal of the January 2011 fuel duty increase and further corporation tax and small companies’ tax rate reductions.