David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of
Commerce (BCC):
"After two years of economic downturn, the Chancellor has
clearly recognised the need to place business at the heart of this
Budget. Doubling the annual investment allowance, help with
business rates, and allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of their
gains will prove especially popular.
"The Chancellor could have done more to set out a clear plan for
the reduction of the budget deficit, which continues to threaten
business confidence and investment."
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB):
- Disappointed and concerned that the Chancellor is proceeding
with the proposed hike in National Insurance Contributions (NICs),
asserting this comes at a cost of 57,000 jobs to the economy
- Pleased with the announcement to take 345,000 small businesses
in England out of the business rates system, saying business rates
are the third highest outlay for small businesses
- Looks forward to the introduction of the new credit adjudicator
for rejected bank loan applications
- Remains concerned at the 1p per litre increase in fuel duty
next month, although says the proposal to phase in the increase
will be of some help
- Happy about the announcement to direct more public sector
contracts towards SMEs and thinks it will particularly help
businesses employing less than 10 people
- Welcomes the extended time period for paying tax bills and the
doubling of the Entrepreneurs Relief
Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private
Business:
"There's a sense that this was a budget for an election and that
the Government is courting the small business vote. It would have
been more encouraging to see some real political responsibility and
measures to address difficult issues, like public sector pensions,
which we need to tackle in order to keep the UK competitive in the
longer term.
"My initial reaction is that there was quite a bit of give, give,
give in the Budget, but nothing new - and nothing to address the
serious issues this country faces. I cautiously welcome the way the
Chancellor acknowledged the importance of smaller businesses to
economic recovery."
Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of
British Industry (CBI):
"With the election just weeks away, this was a clever, political
budget. However, anxiety remains on how the deficit is going to be
paid down, and the growth forecasts for 2011 and beyond are still
on the optimistic side.
"There was more support for business than might have been
expected, with a series of modest but helpful changes. The doubling
of entrepreneurs' CGT relief will help investment in small
businesses and the extra money for science places at university
will be welcomed by industry.
"However, it is the big fiscal decisions over the next 12 months
that will really determine the UK's economic future."
Christian Arno, entrepreneur and founder of Lingo24:
"The move on business rates, relief on capital gains tax and a
doubling of the annual investment allowance are small measures, but
added together, they make the entrepreneurial game a more
attractive one. The country absolutely needs entrepreneurs to be
firing on all cylinders and convinced this is the place to do
business, and that they'll be rewarded and supported here. The
additional support - from the Growth Capital fund to the commitment
to award 15% of government contracts to UK SMEs - are also very
helpful.
"All this said, we think this country will not start motoring
economically (at least not sustainably) until we as a nation are
much more export-focused, like successful modern economies like
Sweden and Switzerland. We would like to see the government focus
more support on helping companies take advantage of the foreign
language internet - the fact it's much easier to market in foreign
languages than English - particularly in this period of a weak
pound. [...]
"We would also like to see incentives for business to help young
people - those at school or university - to monetise the superior
internet understanding they have. This will be crucial as the web's
role in business becomes ever more critical."
David Bywater, tax partner at KPMG:
"The amount of time that the Chancellor's speech spent
addressing the issues facing SMEs demonstrates that he does
recognize the value that they have to UK economy and that after two
years of tough economic condition and with income dead, access to
cash remains a priority. The main bank lenders into the SME
sector (RBS and Lloyds) have been mandated to lend at least £47bn
to struggling small businesses which is great news and the
Chancellor also signalled that he is encouraging competition to the
small lending sector with the introduction of new banks; offering a
further life line to SMEs. [...]
"The Chancellor could have gone further and relaxed the rules to
deliver entrepreneurs' relief to angel investors. The
relaxations to the VCT and EIS schemes will make it easier for
certain businesses to raise equity capital, and these measures are
welcome.
"Whilst the Chancellor did spend time talking about the
Government's commitment to encouraging more jobs in the SME sector,
his failure to address the National Insurance Contribution increase
from April 2011 remains a very direct tax on employment."