A Business Woman’s Response to Mr. Darlings 2008 Budget - Joanne Jarrett

My initial reaction on hearing the main points of this years’ Budget was ‘right, OK…. and now something for us small business owners….’ I waited patiently; there were no great shocks as such and in a way that’s a bonus in itself I suppose – to paraphrase slightly “less news, is good news”, but there isn’t really anything that I as a member of the small business community could really get my teeth into.

The usual suspects were rounded up and selected for the familiar treatment of an almost immediate rise in duty – the so called ‘sin taxes’, namely wines, beer, spirits and cigarettes.

I for one, welcomed Mr. Darlings’ intention to simplify what can be a minefield of rules and regulations with regard to ones’ business tax matters. In my opinion getting to grips with the complexities of our current tax situation for those of us running small businesses, especially in the initial stages, can have us running for the hills at the best of times.

The lower rates of corporation tax will increase from 19% to 20% next year and then 22% in coming years.

For those whose businesses rely on the use of vehicles, be prepared to be put under more pressure by the addition of an extra 2p (per litre of petrol) for the increased cost of fuel due to come into force this October.

However, there were some pluses, notably the new government £12.5m Investment Fundinitiative set up with the specific aim of targeting female entrepreneurs.

The announcement of the new ‘Entrepreneurs Relief’ can only be a good thing too, encouraging as it will the spirit of enterprise for all. As will his announcement of extra money being made available via the Small Firms Loan Scheme; this has now been extended to SME’s of any age, where previously only businesses of 5 years or less were eligible.

There are a further 270 pages of accompanying Budget additions, so who knows, there may be something immensely helpful to those of us in business, that we’ll discover as we gradually pore over and dissect the information relevant to our industries.

I’ll leave the last word to Oscar Wilde who said, “When I was young I used to think money was the most important thing in life. Now that I’m old, I know it is….”