What has the Budget done for you?
Detail:
If you are a cider-drinking, mansion owner, than you are probably a bit hacked off with the Budget and are busy stockpiling your three-car garage with litres and litres of the apple brew.
However, I doubt many of us in the pet trade belong to this ilk.
This was no giveaway Budget – but we knew that already. With an election imminent and with depressing highs of public sector borrowing, this was no time to make false or unrealistic promises.
So what does this Budget mean for you? And how will it affect your business?
Well, for small businesses, the best news is a cut in business rates for one year from October. Chancellor Alistair Darling said that about 345,000 businesses would benefit, a figure that includes 100,000 shops, 90,000 industrial sites and 60,000 offices. These small firms with premises with a rateable value of up to £6,000 will pay no business rates, saving approx £1,200. A further 155,000 business with a rateable value of up to £12,000 will receive significant reductions.
The break will certainly help small businesses and retailers struggling with rising costs and squeezed profit margins – business rates are the third biggest cost for many businesses, after salaries and rents. And it is certainly the one grouse I hear most about when talking to retailers. So good news here, then.
If a business has been struggling to pay its tax bills, the Chancellor also announced an extension to the Government’s Time to Pay scheme, which allows firms to spread their payments over a longer period. Since its launch in November 2008, some 200,000 businesses have had extra time to pay more than £5.2 billion in tax.
However, the pain starts in April next year, from when the Chancellor announced National Insurance contributions paid by employers will rise by one per cent. A move which swiftly drew condemnation from the Federation of Small Businesses, which said this increase would cost 57,000 jobs in the UK and not aid economic growth.
In a further blow, the national minimum wage will increase by 13p to £5.93 an hour from October for adults aged over 21. I know this is bad news for many retailers who are finding it difficult to cope with rising wage bills. Whether this means a greater reliance on an under-21 workforce remains to be seen.
The Chancellor also signalled that Labour was planning to abolish the retirement age of 65 and to look at ways in which older workers could work flexible hours.
However, there is good news of sorts for small businesses looking for credit, as state-owned banks will now be forced to lend more in a move to grow small businesses. Yes, RBS and Lloyds must lend £94 billion to new businesses, half of which must go to small to medium-sized businesses.
The investment allowance available to small business will also be doubled to £100,000, which means that nearly all businesses in the UK will be able to deduct all plant and machinery costs. And when those businesses churn out their millions, the amount of profit on which entrepreneurs can claim a lifetime capital gains tax discount is to be doubled from £1 million to £2 million.
So, good or bad Budget? It’s not that clear-cut, and depends really from where you approach it. In the main, response seems to be that this is a sensible Budget considering the economic situation. Obviously, there will always be criticisms, saying that more could be done for such and such. But how has it affected you? Or is it business as usual – life goes on, as it always has?
However, I doubt many of us in the pet trade belong to this ilk.
This was no giveaway Budget – but we knew that already. With an election imminent and with depressing highs of public sector borrowing, this was no time to make false or unrealistic promises.
So what does this Budget mean for you? And how will it affect your business?
Well, for small businesses, the best news is a cut in business rates for one year from October. Chancellor Alistair Darling said that about 345,000 businesses would benefit, a figure that includes 100,000 shops, 90,000 industrial sites and 60,000 offices. These small firms with premises with a rateable value of up to £6,000 will pay no business rates, saving approx £1,200. A further 155,000 business with a rateable value of up to £12,000 will receive significant reductions.
The break will certainly help small businesses and retailers struggling with rising costs and squeezed profit margins – business rates are the third biggest cost for many businesses, after salaries and rents. And it is certainly the one grouse I hear most about when talking to retailers. So good news here, then.
If a business has been struggling to pay its tax bills, the Chancellor also announced an extension to the Government’s Time to Pay scheme, which allows firms to spread their payments over a longer period. Since its launch in November 2008, some 200,000 businesses have had extra time to pay more than £5.2 billion in tax.
However, the pain starts in April next year, from when the Chancellor announced National Insurance contributions paid by employers will rise by one per cent. A move which swiftly drew condemnation from the Federation of Small Businesses, which said this increase would cost 57,000 jobs in the UK and not aid economic growth.
In a further blow, the national minimum wage will increase by 13p to £5.93 an hour from October for adults aged over 21. I know this is bad news for many retailers who are finding it difficult to cope with rising wage bills. Whether this means a greater reliance on an under-21 workforce remains to be seen.
The Chancellor also signalled that Labour was planning to abolish the retirement age of 65 and to look at ways in which older workers could work flexible hours.
However, there is good news of sorts for small businesses looking for credit, as state-owned banks will now be forced to lend more in a move to grow small businesses. Yes, RBS and Lloyds must lend £94 billion to new businesses, half of which must go to small to medium-sized businesses.
The investment allowance available to small business will also be doubled to £100,000, which means that nearly all businesses in the UK will be able to deduct all plant and machinery costs. And when those businesses churn out their millions, the amount of profit on which entrepreneurs can claim a lifetime capital gains tax discount is to be doubled from £1 million to £2 million.
So, good or bad Budget? It’s not that clear-cut, and depends really from where you approach it. In the main, response seems to be that this is a sensible Budget considering the economic situation. Obviously, there will always be criticisms, saying that more could be done for such and such. But how has it affected you? Or is it business as usual – life goes on, as it always has?
By:
Sandra
Date/time :
25/03/2010
Replies to this topic...
By:
newshound
Date/time :
26/03/2010 08:33:54
Detail:
Until the buying public feel confident to start spending money again then no budget will be of benefit to small business.
The fact is that mr average is putting spare money into lowering personal debt rather than spending it in the shops.
And anyone who thinks the recession is over better think again. After the general election we will see the real cuts in public spending which will dent the confidence in private spending. The ride gets bumpier by the day.
The fact is that mr average is putting spare money into lowering personal debt rather than spending it in the shops.
And anyone who thinks the recession is over better think again. After the general election we will see the real cuts in public spending which will dent the confidence in private spending. The ride gets bumpier by the day.
