Giving her reaction to the Budget, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“Business wanted a steady, workmanlike Budget, and that’s what we got. The Chancellor listened to our calls to avoid higher business taxes and costs – and indeed moved to lower them in a number of areas. He has finally taken real action to lessen the crushing burden of business rates, and sharpened incentives for entrepreneurship and investment.
“While his commitments to key business infrastructure projects are positive, the Chancellor must ensure that they move from the drawing board to speedy construction on the ground. In a softening economy, the combination of sustained infrastructure investment and lower business taxes is important to maintaining the confidence of firms across the country.”
On business rates:
“Businesses will cheer measures to cut the burden of business rates, which hundreds of thousands of firms have to pay before they even turn over a single pound.
“More frequent revaluations will be welcomed, too, but only if a simpler system with fewer valuation errors can be delivered. We would also have liked to see plant and machinery investments excluded from business rates calculations, so we will be pressing for further action on this and other aspects of the system that discourage investment.
“All in all, the rates reforms are a significant step in the right direction, and we will work closely with the government to ensure that they result in real improvements for long-suffering businesses on the ground.”
On the Business Tax Roadmap, Corporation Tax, and Capital Gains Tax:
“The Business Tax Roadmap will help provide a greater degree of certainty as businesses look to plan for the future. Ultimately, the acid test for the roadmap will be whether it makes it easier for businesses to navigate the UK’s complex tax system.
“Cuts to corporation tax and capital gains tax show that the UK is very much open for business. The reduction in capital gains tax in particular will help to encourage entrepreneurial risk-taking in some of our most dynamic young firms.”
On additional investment in HMRC services:
“While businesses continue to express serious reservations about the quality of service provided by HMRC, the additional investment to make it quicker and easier for business people to deal with the Revenue is welcome. We will press for this investment to be geared towards supporting small and medium-sized businesses and making compliance easier.”
On fuel duty:
“We were expecting an increase in fuel duty, so the freeze is good news for businesses, particularly those at the smaller end of the spectrum. The freeze will help keep transport and distribution costs competitive.”
On infrastructure:
“Businesses will be pleased that the Chancellor is moving forward on key infrastructure projects. However, these projects remain at a very preliminary stage, and businesses won’t celebrate exploratory studies and plans that are never realized. Here in Norfolk we want to see our critical infrastructure projects, such as the improvements on the A47 and the Great Yarmouth third river crossing come to fruition are soon as possible.
