Spring Budget 2017 – APS financial

Rich Wagner, CEO, commented on Wednesday’s Spring Budget:

“The announcement of increased National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed from 9% to 10% in April 2018, and then to 11% in April 2019 gives out a negative message to risk-taking entrepreneurs in the UK, particularly those operating in the Sharing Economy, a sector which has seen extreme growth in the UK in recent years.

With Brexit looming, the government needs to create a nurturing environment for grassroots, home-grown UK businesses, now more than ever, to make us an attractive investment option overseas.

While measures clearly need to be taken to address the disparity between the rates paid by the near 5 million self-employed people in the UK and regular employees, it’s important that the government continues to review these new measures. This will ensure that they’re still creating a business environment that encourages entrepreneurship in this country.

Some of the Chancellor’s measures announced yesterday do just that – better investment towards easing the amount small businesses have to pay in business rates next year; giving unincorporated businesses that have an annual turnover below the VAT registration threshold until April 2019 to prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD). These are steps we need to be taking as a country to create a hassle free and easy process for new businesses to thrive in the UK.”