A budget for business?

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Ian Borley, KPMG’s East Midlands senior partner, reveals what he expects to emerge from Philip Hammond’s red briefcase.

On Wednesday, there will be some challenging choices to make, and even tougher interest groups in the economy for Philip Hammond, to satisfy. The last Spring Budget hardly left many lasting memories, and expectations for the upcoming Autumn Budget aren’t likely to be high, considering the little room for manoeuvre that the Chancellor has.

Each announcement will need to be viewed with one eye looking through a Brexit lens, however, in tone we can expect a Budget focused on bolstering the domestic economy as we hurtle towards an economically uncertain exit from the EU.

However, businesses in the East Midlands are very clear on what they want from Government; stability, predictability and competitiveness. They are likely to be keeping an eye out for measures around tax reliefs, particularly once the UK is out of the EU. Our own Tax Competitiveness Survey consistently shows that taxpayers prioritise long term stability and predictability over lower tax rates in terms of judging the competitiveness of a jurisdiction.

At this moment in time, I doubt the Chancellor will put pensions in the firing line, although he may reduce the annual or lifetime allowance slightly.

With a continued focus on home ownership, it still seems likely that there will be further help to encourage those who want to own a property, whether that be through scrapping stamp duty or another incentive. Nevertheless, a coherent housing policy that gets rid of unfair charges should be the aim.

In the current environment these words may feel more like desperate pleas for reprieve rather than considered objectives. Ultimately this Autumn Budget will bring forth its fair share of the expected and the unexpected but the key message from business is to keep it simple and stable and to deliver a programme for growth in these uncertain times.

Serious measures are required to make Britain’s business environment less complex and more ready for a future independent of the EU, and one that is attractive to both innovators and investors. More than ever, we need a fiscal strategy that can clearly help drive productivity and the economy forward.