A Business Womans Response to Mr Darlings 2008 Budget
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My initial reaction on hearing the main points of this years’ Budget was
‘right, OK…. and now something for us small business owners….’ I waited
patiently; there were no great shocks as such and in a way that’s a bonus in
itself I suppose – to paraphrase slightly “less news, is good news”, but there
isn’t really anything that I as a member of the small business community could
really get my teeth into.
The usual suspects were rounded up and selected for the familiar treatment of
an almost immediate rise in duty – the so called ‘sin taxes’, namely wines,
beer, spirits and cigarettes.
I for one, welcomed Mr. Darlings’ intention to simplify what can be a
minefield of rules and regulations with regard to ones’ business tax matters. In
my opinion getting to grips with the complexities of our current the tax
situation for those of us running small businesses, especially in the initial
stages can have us running for the hills at the best of times.
The lower rates of corporation tax will increase from 19 per cent to 20 per
cent next year and then 22 per cent in coming years.
For those whose businesses rely on the use of vehicles, be prepared to be put
under more pressure by the addition of an extra 2p (per litre of petrol) for the
increased cost of fuel due to come into force in this October.
However, there were some pluses, notably the new government £12.5m Investment
Fund initiative set up with the specific aim of targeting female entrepreneurs.
The announcement of the new ‘Entrepreneurs Relief’ can only be a good thing
too, encouraging as it will the spirit of enterprise for all. As will his
announcement of extra money being made available via the Small Firms Loan
Scheme; this has now been extended to SME’s of any age, where previously only
businesses of 5 years or less were eligible.
There are a further 270 pages of accompanying Budget additions, so who knows
there may be something immensely helpful to those of us in business, that we’ll
discover as we gradually pore over and dissect the information relevant to our
industries.
I’ll leave the last word to Oscar Wilde who said, “When I was young I used to
think money was the most important thing in life. Now that I’m old, I know it
is….”
About the Author
Joanne Jarrett is MD of Totally Typing Ltd. Producers of fast, accurate
documentation...' An Audio Typing & Digital Transcription Service – We work with
clients who typically come from media production companies, publishing houses,
market research companies, legal professionals and journalists. We produce
transcribed documentation from focus groups, round table discussions,
one-to-one, group interviews and seminars. Contact us on 0800 085 5427 or
enquiries@totallytyping.com
http://www.totallytyping.com/
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2008-03-18 14:59:27 in Business Articles
