Chancellor adopts FSB proposal to help 500,000 small firms through Employment Allowance

Responding to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague, said:

“We are very pleased to see the Chancellor adopting our top ask for this Spring Statement: uprating the Employment Allowance to help small employers with national insurance costs.

“We originally put forward the Employment Allowance as a targeted measure to help small firms, and it has now been expanded three times since its creation.

“Together with a cut to fuel duty, these measures will provide crucial breathing space for our embattled small employers.  

“This Spring Statement marks a good starting point, with welcome measures on business rates, net zero and energy investment taking effect next month.

“With steep inflation, energy bills increasing fast, without the same support in place as enjoyed by consumers, and hiring pressures landing hard on small firms, more of the right stuff will be needed in the autumn given this challenging backdrop.

“We’ve seen a VAT cut on net zero investments for households today, which is good for small firms involved in their installation.

“However, a high street shop or local bar cannot access the same support that consumers do when dealing with the same energy supplier, and they should have access to the same assistance to reduce energy use and support the move to net zero.

“We look forward to working with the Chancellor on his new tax plan. Achieving the new culture of enterprise vision he rightly aspires to, alongside levelling up aspirations, will mean putting community small firms and sole traders front and centre of reforms.

“That means taking more of them out of the business rates system, protecting SME R&D investment incentives and delivering on commitments to end an endemic late payment culture that destroys thousands of firms a year.”   

About FSB
As experts in business, FSB offers members a wide range of vital business services, including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice in Government. Its aim is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk. You can follow us on twitter @fsb_policy.