How does the 2014 Budget impact SMEs?
Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Budget speech in Parliament this week, with a favourable outcome for SMEs.
He boosted two key areas of commercial activity – business investment and exports, both of which have badly underperformed in recent years.
The Chancellor doubled the Annual Investment Allowance and, from the start of the new tax year, businesses will get 100% tax relief in year one on investment in plant and machinery up to £500,000.
For new, but innovative SMEs, the increased refundable Research and Development tax credits will give them extra cash to invest before they achieve profitability.
A funding packing of 100,000 apprenticeships is also to be introduced over the next two years to plug the skills gap.
On the global stage, Export Finance is being doubled and British SMEs will get getting increased practical support from the UKTI.
Helping to support start-ups to that next stage of vital high growth, the Chancellor also made permanent the tax reliefs available to seed investors in these small businesses.
The only sting in the tail for our SMEs was the lack of firm announcements of new or accelerated infrastructure projects.
