What does the budget announcement mean for you and for your business?
Some of the announcements made in Mr Sunak’s Budget could have an impact on your business and it’s important that you know and understand what they are. There were many positives that you could benefit from but there were also some things that may require you to take action within your business.
So it is time to sit up and take notice and be strategic. Speak to your accountant, your mentor/coach or consultant and start asking…. What does it mean for my business?
Here are some of the key points I have been asked about in the past 24 hours…….
- Help to grow – How will this affect you? It looks like more money will be spent to deliver courses for business owners, but do you have the time to attend? Before you sign up to another course, first think about how this would be of benefit for you or if your business needs 121 support that is more relevant to your situation. You may need real help and practical tailored support to get things done.
- R&D claims will now also cover cloud computing and data storage costs which means that more companies will have access to funds, this is a good thing. Start looking into the support that exists and make sure that you are aware of how you can access this in your business.
- 50% reduction in business rates for the retail and leisure & hospitality sector is a positive move and will be a great help for many on the high street. It will likely benefit the bigger companies more than the small businesses who don’t pay rates as they fall under rates relief. Whilst you may not be aware of what the rates are if you have been considering a move in to larger premises but the rates were putting you off, now may be the time to look again providing you fall into the retail and leisure sector.
- For all business owners making profits of over £50,000 and paying corporation tax, please be aware of the increase from 19% to 25% which takes affect in April 2023. It may seem a long way off but it will soon be upon us and it will affect how you make your business work financially so you may need to adjust your costs to ensure the business is sustainable in the long term.
- 6.6% increase in the national living wage to £9.50 per hour is a really good move for those working on the lower end of pay especially after last years small increase of 2.2%. Make sure that you look at how this increase will affect your business, I know many businesses who have large numbers of employees on the NMW and they will have to adjust their prices in order to be able to with stand such an increase. When wage increases are considered SME’s are unlikely to able to withstand the increases on their own. Many of their supply chain will also be passing on increases too. So it is important to start the conversations now so that any price increases to your customers can be managed well.
- The 8% cut the universal credit taper will be good news for those that want to work more but have been unable to because of the current caps. More of your employees will be able to afford to work more hours and keep more of their increased pay. This will be a great news for the businesses who are struggling to find reliable staff as you can now offer more work to your existing team members rather than having to fight for new ones.
- There is no further support for the small business owners who have been hugely affected during the pandemic. I know many businesses have barely survived the last 12 months with a number of people being forced to take on part time and full time jobs to survive and pay bills. Those bills are rocketing with the cost of fuel, gas electric, council tax, and food going up consistently and this budget is not going to provide any real assistance here so now is the time to start planning ahead and make sure that you are able to thrive going forward.
