Chancellor's statement: How members reacted

Members of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce have issued their own reactions to the Chancellor's Spring Statement.

Nathan Wallis, chief of Staff at Wesleyan Group, the specialist financial services mutual, said: “The Chancellor 's announcements today go some way to addressing the very real challenges being faced in households across the UK but are unlikely to go far enough. Some of our customers are lying awake at night, worried about the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis and today 's announcement may ease the burden but won 't make it go away. ”

“To combat inflation the Bank of England raised the base rate last week, but it 's unlikely savers will see the benefits passed onto them for some time.

“Many households are now focusing on how to manage day-to-day costs but making radical changes - such as dipping into pensions or savings to pay bills - should be a very last resort as this could have significant implications on people 's finances in the future.

Chris Bond, tax partner at BDO in the Midlands, commented: “Given the current inflationary squeeze on household income, consumer spending and business ' costs, the focus was very much on creating conditions for accelerated growth and productivity, while building fiscal resilience.

“While businesses are facing headline tax increases across NIC and corporation tax, ambitious, entrepreneurial companies investing for growth will be encouraged by a commitment to innovation and more specifically on incentives - a positive move to support long-term growth and productivity gains. It remains to be seen what further proposals will be made to improve R&D tax relief, and whether that is focused on SMEs or around specific geographical investment in innovation, but the political rhetoric remained positive. In the Midlands, 50% of businesses believe the levelling-up is critical to the success of their business so targeted support in the Autumn Budget would be well-received. ”

Rod McKenzie, RHA executive director said: “Cutting fuel duty is a common sense move and will be a boost for the economy, but more could have been done.

“The Chancellor missed an opportunity to announce a rebate to relieve more pressure on businesses. We 'll continue to press the Government hard for this measure as firms grapple with huge operating cost hikes. ”

Rebecca Durrant (pictured), tax partner at national audit, tax, advisory and risk firm Crowe, said: “As expected there were no real changes for private clients announced in the Spring Statement. Despite mounting pressure, Rishi Sunak did not back track on the increases to National Insurance and dividend tax rates, meaning that income yields for investors will reduce, net pay for middle earners will shrink and profit extraction for business owners will be more expensive.

“In terms of possible changes in the autumn, it will be interesting to see whether the 'Tax Plan ' that Mr Sunak announced is extended.

“At the moment, this is light on detail for private clients and does not address the wealth taxes issue. Neither does it include more detail on the recently released consultation on property taxes. Residential property landlords have weathered enormous amounts of change over the last ten years and the concern is that this could mean more. A return to a simpler system would be much more welcome.

“The only positive change on the distant horizon is the planned reduction to income tax to 19%, but we have to wait until 2024 for this which will not help people now.

“In summary, not much tangible change, but a lot for people to think about over the coming months as we enter what is likely to be a challenging period for everyone. ”

Mike Tuhme, head of Tax at KPMG in the Midlands, said: “The Chancellor has trailed for months that he wouldn 't be making any significant fiscal changes in the Spring Statement. But the cost-of-living crisis has forced his hand into making a major announcement on National Insurance and Income Tax thresholds, albeit the basic rate reduction is another two years away. On paper, these are pretty expensive rabbits to be pulling out of the hat, though the impact of fiscal drag in a high inflation environment has given him more than enough headroom to do this.

“A lot of difficult decisions have been kicked into the autumn but the Chancellor 's promise to consult with businesses, including those here in our region, before introducing significant tax policy changes is encouraging - although perhaps not for those tasked with responding to the mountain of tax consultations that are inevitably in store. ”

Bira's CEO Andrew Goodacre said: "The Spring Statement is underwhelming for indie retailers with limited help on rising costs to business. Whilst we support cuts in fuel duty and an increase in NI allowance, this not nowhere near enough to offset 300% increases in energy, 100% increase in rates and double digit increases in the cost of employment. The 1p cut in income tax is a classic diversionary tactic designed to hide a statement which is short on support for business.

"Increases in product costs are easier to pass on to consumer, but these rising overhead costs are not which ultimately means a very difficult year for small retailers," he added.

Paul Breen, managing director for affordable housing specialist Living Space said: “We welcome the range of measures Chancellor Rishi Sunak has put in place to acknowledge and help to tackle the widespread cost of living crisis. However, this is barely scratching the surface of the current issues. Soaring energy price rises are hitting those on low incomes disproportionately. Far more needs to be done to prevent more households from falling into spiralling debt by simply using their cars and heating their homes.

“With appropriate funding, the affordable housing sector can lead the way in decarbonising the UK 's housing stock. The uplift in cost to build an EPC A-rated home is a fraction of the price of retrofitting an existing home with the same energy saving technology. However, only a small proportion of new homes are being specified to EPC A standards, with many only meeting current Building Regulations.