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budget 2010 summary

2010 Budget - Key Points from The Chancellor

More government contracts for SMEs - A target of 15% is to be set for government contracts to go to SMEs.

Government departments will aim to pay 80% of invoices within five days – in response to research which found that many small businesses were being forced to wait in excess of 30 days to have Government invoices paid.

Government financial support to SMEs to be simplified – Acknowledging that businesses find the huge array of Government initiatives bewildering, Darling announced the launch of a new body; UK Finance for Growth, to oversee all state financial support for businesses.

Entrepreneurs’ relief to be doubled – Those who sell their business are currently taxed at 10% (as opposed to 18%) on the first £1 million of their proceeds. This is to be doubled to £2 million.

Business rates are to be cut – Darling gave no exact figure but said that they would be cut from October. He estimates that this will help “nearly half a million small businesses“, some of which will pay no business rates at all.

The Government will put more pressure on banks to lend – RBS and Lloyds Banking Group are to provide £94 billion of new business loans next year and nearly half of this is to go to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Darling to establish a new Credit Adjudication Service – a body set up to deal with complaints from SMEs which have been refused bank loans, with legal powers to “enforce judgements” if credit has been “wrongly denied“.