Bristol and the wider South West deserves to benefit from the chancellor’s Budget, a senior business figure in the city has said.
The first Budget of Boris Johnson’s majority government is being announced by the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on Wednesday, March 11.
Andrew Hodgson, senior partner for KPMG in Bristol, believes the government needs to demonstrate its commitment to the region and help boost growth - but is sceptical about the city benefitting much from the announcement.
He says he is “not confident” Bristol will get the “significant and much-needed” investment in infrastructure it needs.
“The government appears to be focussing investment in infrastructure on the areas of the country where Gross Value Added (GVA) is struggling – while Bristol has one of the highest GVAs per worker,” he said.
Mr Hodgson is also concerned the government could scrap, or make cuts to, entrepreneurs’ relief.
“The tax break has proven to be one of many incentives that has helped Bristol to become a centre for innovation, producing successful scale-up businesses and future unicorns,” he said.
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“If the rumours are true, scrapping this relief could send a negative message to entrepreneurs thinking about building new businesses, and I’d hope to see something else pulled out of the hat to support our entrepreneurs and wealth creators.”
Businesses, says Mr Hodgson, are also keen to hear more on the promised review of business rates - but believes radical reform is “unlikely”.
“Plans to reduce the rates burden by £320million in 2020-21, by extending a retail discount from 33 per cent to 50 per cent for businesses with a rateable value below £51,000, could however, provide a lifeline to ensure we maintain our strong and vibrant high streets and communities in the city.
“If the rumours are anything to go by though, we could be waiting until the Autumn Budget for many of the real decisions.”
