companies house made easy

an end to fixed retirement age

Chancellor George Osborne has delivered the first Budget of the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition Government.

SMEs use multiple banks to avoid risk

Small businesses are moving away from using just one bank due to the credit crunch and the difficulties in accessing finance from high street banks.

emergency budget 2010

Chancellor George Osborne has delivered the first Budget of the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition Government.

view all news

An extension of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, corporation tax rate to remain unchanged for 2010, and increased tax relief on empty properties have been announced in the pre-budget report.

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s measures have been welcomed by small business groups such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

"Extending the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, which we called for last year and has seen more than £600 million lent out to just over 6,000 businesses, is a welcome move, although we wanted to see the scheme extended indefinitely and promoted further to help small firms get much-needed access to finance," stated FSB National Chairman John Wright.

Corporation tax had been set to rise by 1% in 2010, but has now been frozen, saving small business an estimated £300 million for the next year.

Tax relief on empty properties is hoped to help 850,000 SMEs, who will not be required to pay any tax on empty buildings with a rateable value of less than £18,000.