Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered one of the most talked-about Budget speeches in years today, and it received a mixed response from businesses.
Ruth Ross, chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is not what you would describe as a business-friendly budget – but it seems that many Shropshire companies were expecting it to be worse.
“The Chancellor has listened to the business community’s calls and made the right choice by not piling major new tax rises on businesses’ shoulders, which will go some way to calming nerves.
“Businesses will also welcome support for youth employment, stamp duty relief, protection for capital spending, a reduction in business rates multipliers and some investment tax breaks.
“They will be worried, however, about salary sacrifice changes, mandatory wage increases, and retention of the energy profits levy, which will maintain cost pressures.
“Alongside this, we have seen UK-wide business support funding of almost £1bn axed and replaced with a system of piecemeal support which favours select urban regions. That risks further regional inequality and damage to rural economies such as Shropshire."
She added: “The Chancellor’s confirmation of a minimum wage rise is probably going to be the biggest worry. Making employment more expensive for business owners risks deepening the jobs crisis, particularly among young people.
“And if the Chancellor wants a sure-fire way to back growth, the answer is to deliver on infrastructure investment across the UK. There was very little in today’s speech to suggest that significant support for more rural areas such as Shropshire will be at the forefront of their minds.
“Businesses taking part in our quarterly economic surveys have been calling for a long time for a major reform of business rates. There was some tinkering announced today, but nothing which appears to explain how traders in our market towns can compete on a level playing field with big online rivals.”
Chamber patron Shropshire Business magazine has collated the views of many more local businesses - including several who joined Ruth at Wellington Orbit cinema, where BBC Shropshire and Politics Midlands were live streaming the budget speech.
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