Newspage asked a selection of business owners across all sectors — from mortgages and retail to marketing and tech — what they would like to see announced in next week’s spring Budget.
Andrew Montlake, managing director at Coreco said, “What we categorically need to avoid with this Budget is another Liz Truss turkey with unfunded tax cuts in the current administration’s desperation for electoral votes.
“The markets will be unimpressed and borrowing costs could skyrocket. Housing is a big play, and whilst many of their options concentrate on the demand side and could be considered inflationary, some kind of further stamp duty incentive could be an easy win.
“The idea of 99% mortgages does not appear to have been thoroughly thought through and and this could very easily be another damp squib that causes issues and helps few.
“Fundamentally we need to see a commitment to more social housing, a roll back of some of the tax treatments of landlords to ease pressure on the private rental sector, easing of planning and the establishment of a cross party committee led by a Housing Tsar to make long-term plans beyond the length of the current Parliament.”
Jenny Blyth, small business owner at Storm in a Tesacup Gifts said, “The Budget must include more Cost of Living payments. They denied there would be a recession and yet here we are.
“Truss put our economy in the toilet so it’s time to pick up the pieces. Those of us who are now relying on the likes of Universal Credit to make ends meet deserve to be given these payments.
“Small business owners are having to get second and even third jobs to make ends meet, so the least Hunt can do is offer us a lifeline.”
Daniel Wiltshire, actuary & IFA at Wiltshire Wealth said, “Small businesses feel utterly betrayed by this government.
“It’s as if the tax changes of the past few years have been specifically designed to demoralise the most productive part of our economy.
“If the Chancellor doesn’t either increase the income tax thresholds or reduce corporation tax, ideally both, the Tories can no longer claim to be the party of enterprise.”
