There was nothing for small businesses and the Budget was a non-event, that’s the verdict from the team here at Optimum Professional Services.
Rob Stokes, Optimum Director, said there were very few surprises and those measures designed to help businesses or put money into people’s pockets were limited.
“There had been calls to increase the VAT threshold to £100,000, but the Chancellor stuck at increasing it by only £5,000 to £90,000. This won’t be enough to encourage those businesses, like trades, who don’t want to register for VAT and have to charge 20 per cent more to their customers.”
The cut to National Insurance was well-publicised, dropping from 10 per cent to 8 per cent for paid employment; for the self-employed from 8 per cent to 6 per cent.
“However, this will only give PAYE earners on the average salary another £450 a year, so it’s very little to write home about. For drivers, the 5p cut to fuel duty frozen for another 12 months is welcome but, again, only saves on average £50 a year.”
Rob said the Chancellor’s plans to encourage investment, with planned changes to leased assets could be interesting, but it was essential to see the detail and timescales.
And he added that Capital Gains Tax on property for second home owners, reducing the higher rate from 28 per cent to 24 per cent, would give only a minimal boost a small boost to the property market.
Read our summary of the 2024 Budget here.
Watch Michael, Jon and Iain discuss the Budget here…
