SMALL businesses across Peterborough should be given a vital boost in this month’s budget (March 21) a local tax and accountancy specialist has urged.

Wahid Rehman who runs TaxAssist Accountants in Peterborough said, “The S in SME – small and medium sized enterprises – is often sorely neglected, but small businesses are the backbone of local economies. We know there is very little scope for the chancellor in this budget and we’re not expecting any miracles, but we do want the government to maintain the momentum of growth incentives they’ve already started and add more vital lifelines to sole traders and small firms across Peterborough.”

Wahid Rehman’s budget business booster wish list for Peterborough:

• No fuel duty rises – for local trades people and service providers who make home visits, their cars and vans are a vital part of their service, not a luxury and they can’t absorb the cost of fuel price increases.
• Expand the Employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs) holiday everywhere, not just selected regions.
• Increase the VAT registration threshold or lower the rate of VAT to be charged on sales, at the very least for hard-hit sectors such as leisure, tourism and construction.
• Maintain the current £100,000 allowance for full tax relief on purchases of certain plant and equipment, such as vans and computers – it is due to go down to £25,000 from April, but that leaves little scope for growing small firms.
• Extend the small business rate relief holiday again – it provides significant savings for small business owners operating from single premises – and consider an incentive for start-ups to move into empty property, giving a much-needed boost to the high street.
• Give real support to small businesses who want to access vital funding – there are a host of schemes, but presenting the right business case takes valuable time and resource. The government should give financial incentives to small businesses to build their business plan and unlock the door to business lending for growth.

TaxAssist Accountants Peterborough is a local business, based in Peterborough providing tax and accountancy advice and services purely to small businesses.