Spring Statement live reaction

“For small businesses, there are some small nuggets that will benefit owner managed businesses employing a handful of staff, such as the Employment Allowance increasing to £5,000 or the NI Threshold increasing to £12,570 to match the income tax personal allowance threshold. This will be welcome for Directors paid at the tax threshold and make a difference to low earners. However the Health & Social Care levy remains and big investment decisions or cuts have been kicked down the road with a review of the Apprenticeship levy, investment in training, R&D adjustments or a cut in income tax dropped into the Autumn budget or later this parliament. With rampant inflation and rising costs, will businesses survive until the next budget to benefit from those announcement? With bumper tax receipts E132 Billion higher than the same period last year, the Chancellor had a lot more in his war chest and has sent UK businesses and struggling families downstream without a paddle.”

"Raising the tax free allowance helps everyone including the lowest paid and should be welcomed. I also agree with the Chancellor's general strategy of lowering taxes, while improving incentives for business investment and innovation to drive the economy. However, I'm not sure how many people will be rushing out to buy wind turbines after a VAT cut."

"The 5p cut in fuel duty I would question whether we will see this change at the pumps any time soon. Who knows, it may benefit us very slightly in a few months' time. What would have been a welcome announcement is a change to the mileage allowance of 45p that people can claim, it's barely covering the cost of fuel let alone the running costs and depreciation that it should be covering."

"It's like the kettle is boiling on small businesses and families and the Chancellar has dropped 2 ice cubes in and walked off thinking he's done a good job. Smaller businesses are again cast adrift with little by way of support, and whole groups of people completely missed out. We are being squeezed from so many angles and taxing jobs seems like utter stupidity at the moment. The inflation figures are already eye-watering but at least Rishi has given us a tissue to wipe them away with before retreating and leaving people to drown in poverty."

"Though the Chancellor's announcement that VAT will be scrapped on energy efficiency measures such as insulation, solar panels and heat pumps is a step in the right direction, it's also a classic chicken and egg situation. Many people are struggling to pay their bills and simply won't have the money to make the necessary changes to help them save money on energy. The idea is well intentioned but will not help people currently struggling to pay their energy bills."

For a UK business owner, today’s Spring Statement failed to throw the lifeline that is so desperately needed to tackle rising costs, NI and tax hikes, skills shortages and supply chain disruption. The reality is businesses need support and they need it now. Waiting until the Autumn Budget later this year I fear will only serve to stunt economic growth which means the challenges around the cost of living will only worsen. ‘Creating a culture for growth’ is a necessity if we’re going to meet the OBR’s forecasts. Reforming tax credits and expanding relief for R&D should really be happening now so that businesses can pick up the pace with innovation. Likewise, businesses need to be able to plan capital investments and with Super Deduction coming to an end next year, they deserve to know if and when measures will be in place to help invest in new technologies to grow and innovate. The Government has promised a lot to businesses, but six months is a long time to wait for this help to materialise.

"There's every chance Rishi Sunak may be back at the dispatch box with new economic measures before too long. The cost of living is set to rise significantly from next month while the ongoing war in Europe creates additional worry and uncertainty. This Budget simply wasn't radical enough given the extraordinary times we find ourselves in."

"This was a massively underwhelming mini-budget, with many missed opportunities for small businesses across the UK. Expect many more small businesses to close in the coming months, as the level of support announced just isn't enough."

"A decrease to the basic rate in 2024 is welcome, however, what would have been better is an increase to the thresholds for when tax is paid."

"Equalizing the National Insurance threshold to the same £12,570 level as the personal tax allowance is a very welcome tax break, which will help mitigate some of the cost of living rises, and April's National Insurance increase. But the fuel duty cut, whilst welcome, is barely scratching the surface of the recent petrol and diesel hikes. Making heat pumps and solar panels zero rated for vat is great, but ultimately not going to assist people struggling right now with raging inflation."

"Just waiting for the invention of a time machine so we can go forward to 2024 after that Spring Statement. Golly, what a joke."

“Whilst the employment allowance is positive, this does not affect the 4.2m small businesses without staff, and most importantly those under 5 employees are STILL excluded from the Help to Grow management and digital schemes. This is a clear indication from this Government where their priorities lie, and to my mind a significant economic error.”

The equalisation of the National Insurance and income tax thresholds was a step in the right direction for people on low incomes but really the Chancellor should have scrapped the NI increase entirely. The drop of 1p on income tax in 2024 feels like jam tomorrow and the 5p drop in fuel duty equates to roughly £3.30 per tank so won't make much difference. He has no control over when the retailers implement it so I'm not expecting to see lower prices at the pumps tomorrow! A missed opportunity to properly address the significant cost of living increases that are squeezing so many incomes and will restrict growth.

The equalising of NI and income tax makes sense - something which is long overdue. The problem is that this won't do too much to make ends meet for households whose bills have started to get a bit silly over the last few months. And it's only going to get worse.

Sorry, I am confused.. No help for disabled or pensioners unable to work, living on benefits?? How will the national insurance threshold rise help people who don't pay it anyway?? Meaning that disposable income is non existing, all money will go on heating, electricity, rent, maybe food, but 5p off a litre of petrol is nothing when a litre of fuel is 196.9 per litre at the pumps. It means small local businesses will miss out because those people won't go out and order food and goods online with the large corporate companies.. To sum up In one word...... "FAIL"

I work from home, which I'm quickly outgrowing the space, unfortunately soaring prices prove too costly for securing any kind of lease on premises! I provide a delivery service and so 5p reduction in fuel is not a thing, I'm already struggling with energy costs. The Government have made huge errors in handling the previous two years financial crisis. How is this levelling up?