Emily Braeger will present budget proposals impacting businesses, including potential changes to salary sacrifice schemes and income tax. The article features insights from business owners across the UK who share their expectations, such as support for small businesses, clearer direction, and solutions for late payments and VAT.
Emily Braegerwill unveil her proposals, with measures ranging from salary sacrifice schemes to income tax all likely to come under scrutiny. With a host of potential changes on the table, we spoke to people of different ages and backgrounds across the UK to find out what they hope to hear from Reeves.
Bev Wakefield wants more support for her small business With costs up, margins tight, and confidence fragile, it’s time for a “fairer balance”, the 39-year-old, from Derbyshire, said. “Employer national insurance and frozen thresholds continue to drive up the cost of employing people, while smaller firms have been squeezed out of R&D relief that once rewarded everyday innovation. “It’s time for a fairer balance, maintaining business asset disposal relief to support founders who build, reinvest and employ, while enforcing 30-day payment terms to ease the late-payment crisis.” BADR gives business founders a reduced tax rate when they sell their firm. It rose from 10 per cent to 14 per cent in April this year. Enforcing 30-day payment terms, meanwhile, would make large companies pay small suppliers on time, helping to ease the late-payment crisis that squeezes small businesses. Ms Wakefield added: “But above all, we need clarity. No more U-turns, just a clear direction that businesses can trust and plan around.”Business owner Andreea Daly wants more support too Similarly, Andreea Daly, 40, wants what is announced in the Budget to support her business – her customers too. Ms Daly, a fintech business owner from London, wants to see the VAT threshold raised, and a tapered system introduced so “businesses can grow gradually rather than face a wall”. The VAT registration threshold is currently £90,000 in annual taxable turnover. Businesses that exceed this must register for VAT and charge it on their sales. Ms Daly is calling for the threshold to be raised and a tapered system introduced, so businesses can grow gradually without suddenly facing the full VAT obligations once they cross the limit. She said: “Ongoing growth with the current VAT threshold makes that incredibly hard. Right now, there’s a cliff-edge that discourages ambition, I think.“For many growing businesses, that means deliberately holding back sales, turning down work, or raising prices overnight, all because the system punishes success instead of rewarding it.“We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for a fairer, more sensible framework that supports small business growth instead of stifling it. “A smoother VAT transition would mean more people moving confidently from side hustle to small business, and that’s exactly the kind of growth the UK needs right now.”Nick Isles, director of the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys, is urging Reeves to cut employers’ NI for businesses taking on older apprentices in specific areas. Research carried out by the think tank shows that if the Government wants to reach its target of 80 per cent employment, at least one million men and boys across the country need to get into work. Isles said: “We need to be able to increase the possibilities for men to retrain, but the costs for employers are higher for this age group because, unlike 16–24-year-old apprentices, they are liable for employers’ NI contributions. “Many businesses in these key sectors which include advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean energy, digital, life sciences and professional and business services, would benefit from being able to take on more experienced or mature staff, but are likely to be put off by the cost.Toby Whelton, 23, lives in London and works as a researcher at the Intergenerational Foundation which aims to promote intergenerational fairness.“The Budget is an opportunity for the Government to prove it is willing and capable of improving young people’s lives.”Under the proposals, owners of homes worth over £2m would face a charge of 1 per cent on anything over this threshold. “Older generations have mostly benefited from rising property prices, generous defined-benefit pensions, and faced relatively lower taxation through their working lives relative to today’s young. “Meanwhile, government spending has consistently prioritised older generations while cutting services for the young. We must redistribute resources across generations by targeting the trillions of pounds of wealth stored in the country.”More ‘meaningful investment’ for disabled people is what Georgina Colman wants to see Georgina Colman, 49, wants to see “meaningful investment” in disability support, being disabled herself. Often, disabled people have been left shouldering with the rising cost of living with benefits that haven’t kept pace with inflation, high energy bills, and NHS waiting lists that stretch into years, she said.I use salary sacrifice to boost my pension – will I face a tax bill if it’s scrapped? Ms Colman, founder of Purpl, from Berkshire, said: “Through Purpl, we recently asked over 500 disabled and neurodivergent people what they most want to see in the Budget, and the top answers were crystal clear: higher disability benefits, better NHS and social care funding, and more support for neurodiversity treatment and shared care. “These are the essentials people rely on to live with dignity, not luxuries. A Budget that funds faster NHS pathways, fairer assessments, and real cost of living protection would make an immediate difference, helping disabled people stay warm, stay well, and stay independent.”MONEY
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