Paul Webb, tax partner at the small business tax specialists Robert James Partnership, examines what Alistair Darling's 2008 pre-budget report means for small business owners.
Monday's long awaited pre-budget report came and went and has rather left me slightly doubtful as to whether it will do the trick in stimulating the UK's economy. Some of the news was widely leaked; we all knew VAT would be cut after reading the weekend papers. But some of the other measures were rather more unexpected, and will have some serious impacts on smaller businesses. And as ever with these announcements, although the headlines appear now, many of the changes are due to take effect in the future, and, potentially, may be further deferred, as we have already seen with the postponement of the increased lower rate corporation tax.
So what are the changes as they affect smaller business owners in particular?
First of all, there is the headline measure, a 2.5% cut in VAT to 15%, which will apply until the end of 2009. The stated aim is to encourage shoppers back onto the high street but I think you have to question what the effect of this is likely to be.
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