What particularly got my goat the other day, was reading the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, telling the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that the changes had been designed to “limit the extra cost on small businesses”.
He went on to say that many employers would pay the same in NI contributions as they do now, or less, the BBC reported.
I don’t know about you, but that smacks of Tory level disingenuity! If employers would not be paying more, why on earth would they have increased the rates and lowered the threshold - a move that many were quick to point out meant that almost every employed person would be dragged into the payment zone.
At least have the decency to be honest and stand up and say, “look we’re sorry, you’ve all got to pay a bit more into the pot as the situation is a bit sh!t right now.”
Recent research from the BII has shown that the increase in the NIC employer rate to 15% will cost the average pub an extra £5k a year, while the new NIC threshold adds another £7k a year to the bill. And that’s before you factor in the increases to National Living Wage, which brings a further £11k burden to the business.
And I haven't included the increased costs of cutting the relief in business rates either, which will see those bills double.
So to claim the costs are limited is a slap in the face for all those businesses.
There quite clearly needs to be a reality check for the Government, a Government that claimed to be pro-business, but has clearly shown its colours in running a smash and grab budget on the businesses that can least afford it.
The BII research shows that the increased costs from the budget will render 80% unprofitable, while one in four is likely to close as a result.
For a Government that claims to be prioritising growth, that’s a rather odd way to go about it. The only growth that I can see, stemming from the Budget, will be the inflationary increases across the board as desperate businesses attempt to keep their heads above water in a rising tide of Government inflicted cost.