8-12-business-bulletin-V2 11/12/09 15:51 Page 8
~BUSINESS BULLETIN~
News...
DARLING DUCKS DEBT CRISIS
T
he Pre-Budget Report failed to Alistair Darling announced an increase in Darling provided some relief to businesses
address pressing business issues, national insurance rates of a further 0.5 per by delaying the 1p increase in the lower rate
say entrepreneurs and economists. cent from April 2011, a return to 17.5 per cent of corporation tax, extending empty property
Government borrowing will hit £178 billion VAT from 1 January 2010 and a one-off 50 rate relief for properties with a rateable value
for this year, £3 billion more than expected, per cent tax on bank bonuses of over £25,000. of £18,000 or less and continuing HMRC’s
but the chancellor says spending cuts will not Juliet Davenport, CEO of renewable “time to pay” scheme, which he said had
be made until after the general election. energy company Good Energy, says the helped over 160,000 businesses.
Roger Bootle, economic adviser to planned 0.5 per cent increase in national Paul Webb, tax partner at Robert James
Deloitte, believes the PBR was a non-event. insurance contributions for 2011 (amounting Partnership, says that while the PBR was
‘It left the key economic and fiscal forecasts to a 1 per cent hike over today’s rate) will ‘nothing to get excited about’, it could have
exactly as they were. There were some eye- impede economic recovery. She adds, ‘The been worse for businesses. ‘Luckily, [the
catching measures, but any [hope of] reducing rise is a big negative because it’s an incentive chancellor] didn’t apply the bankers’ brush
the forecast budget deficit was nullified by to reduce overheads in terms of the number to entrepreneurs…It was as good as could
increased spending on a variety of initiatives. of people you have, which is a shame when be expected given the current state of the
The net effect was just about zero,’ he says. the goal is to get people back to work.’ economy,’ he says. ■
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