Bev Wakefield
The owner of an award-winning accountancy company says that businesses have been largely neglected following the government’s budget announcement.
Bev Wakefield – owner of Derby-based Vibrant Accountancy – says that, as a small business owner herself, she is disappointed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring budget.
Hunt was expected to deliver an appealable budget, with a general election looming and confidence in the Conservative party low.
The headlines were around cuts to national insurance, an increase in the VAT threshold for small businesses to £90,000 and new taxes on vapes. Hunt also announced higher taxes for business class flights and plans to move the child benefit threshold from £50,000 to £60,000.
The Chancellor’s budget has been criticised by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who accused the Conservatives of ‘smiling as the ship goes down’.
Bev said: “Hunt has mentioned on several occasions about how we need tax cuts, and we know that small businesses are the life blood of our economy, so the fact that taxes haven’t been cut for businesses and business owners is disheartening.
“It’s great that national insurance is coming down, so that the take-home pay for the average employee is increased, and that the national insurance is being decreased for sole traders – but is this enough?”
For a sole trader, national insurance was destined to come down 1% in April to 8%. It will now come down to 6% next month, which could mean a saving of more than £1,000 if a sole trader has profits over £50,000.
The government has introduced a brand-new savings initiative – the UK ISA; a limit allowing investment in British businesses, this will be an additional £5k on top of the existing £20k you can already invest in ISAs elsewhere.
For those with property investments, there is a big news as the government attempts to make the property tax system fairer. Headlines include the abolishment of the Furnished Holidays Lets and scrapping of Multiple Dwellings Relief.
For families, there are big changes around child benefit.
The high income child benefit charge will increase from £50,000 to £60,000 with plans for a household review by 2026. The rate will also be halved so that child benefit is not fully withdrawn until individuals earn £80,000 or higher.
Bev added: “For businesses, it really is a lacklustre budget. It was championed as a budget for growth but it seems that the government are forgetting the business owners who are the backbone of the economy.
“I appreciate that there is a lot of information to take in and, as always, the team at Vibrant Accountancy are happy to help business owners understand what exactly the budget means for them.”
