The region's business leaders speak to DERIN CLARK about what they hope will be announced in next week's spring budget
Pubs, shops and restaurants have been closing at an alarming rate as business owners struggle with rising costs and a fragile economy.
For companies that are still trading, times remain tough and all eyes will be on chancellor Jeremy Hunt to see what support the government offers in next week's budget.
ENERGY COSTS
High energy costs are at the forefront of many minds.
Daniel Bradford, from Norwich city centre cafe Marmalades, said: "We strongly believe that consideration should be given to a renewed energy bill assistance/reduction scheme for local small businesses such as ours, that offer more than just food and beverages, but also a place for friends and family to gather in a neutral, comfortable and relaxed environment."
Mat Waters, from East Anglian accountancy firm Lovewell Blake, also said he would like to see "certainty on energy support for businesses".
He added: "The current arrangements cease just two weeks after the budget, and businesses simply don’t know what - if any – help will be available for them after that.
"Although energy prices are falling, they are still very high, and for businesses trying to plan, that uncertainty over such an important part of their costs is really unhelpful."
READ MORE: Cafe Station Bistro avoids having to close due to rising energy costs
Paul Simon, from the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, and Candy Richards, from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), also raised energy costs as being a key issue for the chancellor.
"We are looking for a continuation of a revised and more nuanced Energy Bills Discount Scheme beyond the end of March, increased Ofgem powers to ensure proper energy supply competition, and increased funding to improve non-domestic energy efficiencies," said Mr Simon.
BUSINESS RATES
Another key issue many raised was business rates - a tax charged on most non-domestic properties such as shops, offices and pubs.
Ms Richards said that in the budget the FSB would like to "see measures to boost entrepreneurship and help small businesses".
"These should include scrapping business rates for firms in properties with a rateable value of up to £25k a year, paid for by a small increase to the multiplier on very large properties," she said.
Steven Scott, from Norwich toy shop Langleys, would also like the chancellor to review business rates.
He said: “The assistance with business rates discounting for the retail sector has been incredibly helpful and welcome.
"If the government has come round to recognising the contributions that interesting small businesses can make to our high streets, including the employment they create, it would be great to see a longer term structure to these discounts to help with planning beyond merely the next 12 months.”
TAX CUTS
As firms struggle with rising costs, business owners have highlighted cutting tax as a way the government could help.
Dan Searle, operations manager from Yalm - a food hall in Norwich's Royal Arcade, said: "Amidst duty increases and rising energy costs a full review of VAT for the sector along with more funding for training and development to encourage sustainable careers within the sector would be most welcome."
Mr Bradford added: "We believe a reduction to 5pc VAT for the food sector, may in fact encourage more growth within the industry."
If the chancellor used the budget to review a planned hike in corporation tax this could help small businesses, Mr Waters, from Lovewell Blake, said.
“There has been a lot of speculation about whether the chancellor will make a U-turn on the increase in corporation tax which comes into effect in April," he said.
"Politically and economically a complete about-face is unlikely, but it would be very helpful for smaller businesses if the threshold below which the small businesses rate of 19pc is payable was increased; I’d like to see it doubled from £50,000 to £100,000.
"For small, two- or three-shareholder businesses, £50,000 is really not enough, and given that the marginal corporation tax rate between £50,000 and £250,000 is going to be 26.5pc, this may have a significant effect on the small businesses on which our region depends."
STAFF SHORTAGES
"One of the biggest challenges for our local small businesses is staff shortages," said Ms Richards. "Some key measures to address this could include a new Kickstart-style job scheme for those whose health problems have kept them out of work for a long time, incentives to spread best practice sickness management, increasing tax-free childcare to £3,000, and more help for over 50s employment."
Mr Simon is also hoping the budget will help solve staff shortages.
He said: "We are looking to the chancellor to help businesses attract and retain staff by addressing spiralling childcare costs through more generous support to the Tax-Free Childcare Account, the introduction of a T Level financial incentive for employers who provide quality industry placements and improve guidance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them invest in digitalisation and automation, not least to take advantage of the step-change offered by 5G technologies.”
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