Earlier today the 2010 Budget was delivered from the Chancellor, Alistair Darling. Now, as the dust settles, we outline some of the key points that may affect your businesses.
The good news is that there is a strong emphasis placed on boosting Britain’s small firms. The Chancellor announced a new Small Business Credit Adjudicator to help ensure that small businesses are treated fairly when applying for bank finance.
Alongside this he noted the creation of a Capital Growth Fund to act as a new channel for private sector investment in UK SMEs together with Government investment. This is aimed at companies who need £2 million to £10 million in investment and looks to ultimately create a £500 million fund.
In addition to this, over the course of the next 12 months, RBS and Lloyds have agreed to provide a total of £94 billion in new business loans, of which nearly half of this will support SMEs.
There will be a temporary increase in the level of small business rate relief for one year, from 1 October 2010. This will mean a tax reduction for more than 500,000 small businesses, 345,000 of which, he claimed, would pay no business rates at all.
Mr Darling also said that an extra 15 per cent of central government contracts would be awarded to small and medium-sized businesses. Offering up to £15 billion worth of new business across the whole of the public sector.
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, welcomed the importance of small businesses in this year’s Budget.
‘After two years of economic downturn, the chancellor has clearly recognised the need to place business at the heart of this Budget,’ he said.
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