Budget 2017 – it’s a step in the right direction but just not enough, according to specialist commercial property portal Boxpod.
Boxpod witnesses all the efforts Britain’s small businesses put in to succeed by providing offices, shops, workshops, industrial and storage units to rent and buy throughout the UK and Budget 2017 just doesn’t go far enough to help SMEs, entrepreneurs and commercial property landlords.
Boxpod MD Nick Marlow’s first impressions after Chancellor, Philip Hammond’s announcements are it is a “weak Budget which does not go far enough to help British businesses”.
He added: “There’s been so much in the press about the need for fair Business Rates – this hardly scratches the surface. We need to see more – a fair Business Rates system. £300m for local councils is just not enough – it doesn’t solve the problem of unjust rates. And what about rates on empty properties? We need to see more to help all our businesses and entrepreneurs in Britain.”
HM Treasury #Budget2017 statements include:
£435 million to support businesses affected by the business rates relief revaluation
“Business Rates raise £25bn per yet – all of which, by 2020, will be going to fund local government… so we cannot anbolish them”.
“We will set out our preferred approach in due course and will consult on it before the next revaluation is due”
£300m discretionary relief fund for local councils to ease business rates burden
Businesses with a turnover below the VAT registration threshold will have their digital tax obligations delayed by one year
National Living wage up to £7.50 in April 2017
Personal allowance will rise for the seventh year in a row to £11,500
National Insurance contributions pad by self employed to increase by 1% to 10% in 2018
Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said:
“FSB welcomes the fact that the Chancellor has listened to the small business-led campaign on business rates. The £435 million of new money is a direct and much-needed response to those facing astronomical hikes in their business rates. This immediate relief is vital in the short-term, and action on more frequent revaluations will also help. But this tax remains out-of-date, so today we call for a cross-party Commission to create a simple, fair tax system for a modern economy.
“Mr Hammond announced that he would take forward FSB’s proposals to help the self-employed in the benefits system. We look forward to working with him on what this may mean for maternity benefits and paternity leave.
“However, the National Insurance rise to 10% next year and 11% in 2019 should be seen for what it is – a £1 billion tax hike on those who set themselves up in business. This undermines the Government’s own mission for the UK to be the best place to start and grow a business, and it drives up the cost of doing business. Future growth of the UK’s 4.8 million-strong self-employed population is now at risk. Increasing this tax burden, effectively funded by a reduction in corporation tax over the same period, is the wrong way to go.”