How can the Budget boost Britain’s businesses?

As George Osborne prepares to unveil the government’s Budget, a number of organisations have called for the chancellor to use this opportunity to stimulate economic growth.

 

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said that Mr Osborne should “introduce bold measures” to support business investment and young people, in order to get the UK’s jobs market up and running.

 

Flat-lining growth rates and high unemployment are “overwhelming” evidence that there is a need for a change of direction, the TUC stated in its budget submission.

 

It also urged Mr Osborne to use the tax system and state bank to encourage companies to invest.

 

“Rather than carrying on with self-defeating cuts, the Chancellor should do what’s right for the economy and prioritise tackling our jobs crisis and getting businesses to invest more of the £724 billion they are currently sitting on,” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said.

 

The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) has also set out proposals for how the Budget can be used to provide a boost to the UK’s micro-firms.

 

While recent figures suggest that small business confidence has improved, FSB national chairman John Walker said that the government must do its bit to capitalise on this new-found optimism.

 

He advised the Chancellor to look at ways to encourage companies to hire, such as introducing employment tribunal fees to reduce the number of serial claimants and speculative claims.

 

Similarly, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has also called for the government to stimulate small business growth.

 

It suggested easing the administration costs of SMEs, which can place a significant financial strain on company budgets.

 

ACE also put forward the idea of underwriting SME overdraft facilities in order to tackle the economic problems which a number of firms are facing as a result of the UK’s current economic uncertainty and strict credit conditions.

 

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