The CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce and the British Retail Consortium have all criticised the Budget for failing to support business, Bloomberg Tax reports. The three groups said the Chancellor, John Healey, did not deliver enough for companies in the statement he gave on Wednesday 28 October.
The CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said:
"This budget lacks the bold moves that would have made it easier for firms to invest, hire and grow"
The FSB national chair, Tina McKenzie, called it a "steady as you go" budget with "no game changer for growth here", SMEweb reports.
The FSB welcomed the rise in the Small Business Rate Relief threshold for retail, hospitality and leisure firms. It said this was the first increase since 2016 but that the change should apply more widely.
The FSB says its research finds that 47% of small businesses expect revenues to shrink in the coming months, while 22% expect growth. It says 18% plan to cut headcount and 6% plan to increase it.
The FSB also says the government adopted 14 of the 15 recommendations of the Small Business Regulation Taskforce. It says these include reversing a Companies House plan for the smallest firms to file profit and loss declarations. That claim has not been independently checked against the Budget documents.