“This government has absolutely no idea on how to grow an entrepreneurial economy. There doesn’t seem to be anything there to benefit a SME owner or sole trader unless i have missed something.”
There’s quite a lot in there for SME owners and there are quite a few changes that will immediately impact what people do / spend next year.
– The cancellation of the corporation tax increase is quite a big deal. It reduces tax paid before profits are in turn paid out as dividends. In most cases SME owners may be more willing to invest in their businesses because they can get more out as net income. I can’t see it in the announcement but I’m assuming that the change to top level income tax will be mirrored in dividends – with the result SME owners may draw down more earnings and in turn spend it in the wider economy.
– The cancellation of the NI uplift will save employers money – giving them more headroom to invest in their businesses or trade through the very difficult period that’s still to come.
– The removal of the high rate income rate threshold will see a shift from saving into pensions to very highly paid employees taking more of their income as salary – and paying tax on it along the way. That increased wage packet will in turn be spent and sustain other jobs in the economy. Most of the increased spend will find its way back to the government through corporation tax on increased sales and VAT.
– The changes to stamp duty will likely help to sustain property sales, which in turn sustain jobs in the construction, property maintenance, building supplies, architectural services etc etc etc. sectors.
– The Regional Enterprise zones could have a transformational effect on local economies. Ref the huge shift that’s occurred in other countries where this has already happened – which in some cases have see huge areas transformed from low wage / high unemployment to high wage / full unemployment.