Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement was trailed as delivering some hope for beleaguered businesses as the post-pandemic recovery is being threatened by global price hikes.
Bristol business leaders and financial experts welcomed some of the measures – but voiced concern that they did not go far enough to ease the pain. 
Business West, the organisation behind Bristol Chamber of Commerce, said the government should have done more to help motorists.
Director Ian Mean said while the fuel savings were “well intentioned” – the statement cut fuel duty by 5p a litre – they amounted to little more than “a drop in the ocean”.
He told the BBC: “I think many haulage firms will be saying it’s far, far too small. It should have been at least 10p.
“In the last few weeks the cost of fuel has gone up 25%”
FSB West of England development manager Sam Holliday, pictured, said small and medium-sized firms were undergoing an unprecedented attack on their finances and many had been looking to the statement in the hope that it would try and recognise this and alleviate some of the current financial pain.
“We are therefore grateful to see the FSB’s call for an increase by £1,000 in the Employment Allowance was listened to and this measure – along with the immediate 5p cut in fuel and the increase in the threshold for paying National Insurance – is to be welcomed,” he said.
“However, we must hope this is just the start of the conversation about how we can support our local SMEs at this time.
“Inflation and rising costs are putting hopes of a post-Covid economic upturn on ice, so we urge the government to build on some of the ideas announced at the statement to help small businesses in the very tricky months to come.”
Karen Kirkwood, pictured, head of tax in accountancy group EY’s Bristol office, said Mr Sunak clearly considered that the lack of a formal Budget was no reason to avoid making changes that “would have made many a Chancellor proud – 11 which between them encompassed immediate tax cuts, promises of further incentives and cuts in the autumn and, to top it off, the ultimate rabbit from the hat of a cut in the income tax rate. There was not a single tax rise in sight.” 
She said the immediate cuts were focused on today’s sources of pain – that of fuel duties – matched with commitments that allowed the Chancellor to maintain credibility in the journey to net zero. Beyond this, the measures were few but targeted.
“However, the Chancellor spent much of his speech in design mode, setting out his aspirations and announcing the publication of his 11-page Tax Plan, replete with potential costed announcements,” she said.
“This is a positive step, providing a forum for engagement, and avoids the criticisms of the previous business tax roadmap, which was more of a travel journal covering the past than a vision of the future.
“So, the Chancellor not only provided some ‘jam’ today but reached out for the recipes to ensure that he can deliver cakes in the real Budget in the autumn.”
Accountancy group KPMG’s regional associate partner for tax, Dave Harris, said Mr Sunak had trailed for months that he would not be making any significant fiscal changes.
“But the cost-of-living crisis force his hand into making a major announcement on National Insurance and Income Tax thresholds, albeit the basic rate reduction is another two years away,” he said.
“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.
“Tax advisors here in the South West and right across the country no doubt got excited on hearing that there would be a new Tax Plan, but what actually landed was light on detail, making it still quite difficult to read the tea leaves when it comes to the government’s long-term tax strategy.” 
He added that there were very few clues as to how the government plans to address the numerous cliff edges and distortions that exist in our tax system.
“Standing firm on the National Insurance rise will likely increase division between the taxation of employment income and those who receive pensions or rental income.
“The Chancellor did offer some hints on where he is heading on corporate tax. His preference seems to be to keep the rate hike to 25% next year but compensate for this with a narrowing of the tax base. “The references to the US tax system and the similarities in approach between this plan and the long-standing policies of that country are noteworthy.
“This looks to be paving the way to a system where a high headline rate is complemented by a proliferation of targeted reliefs.”
He added that while a lot of difficult decisions had been kicked into the autumn, the Chancellor’s promise to consult with businesses, including those here in our region, before introducing significant tax policy changes was encouraging.
Jenny Tragner, pictured above, tax director at Bristol-based R&D tax relief consultancy ForrestBrown welcomed the fact the Chancellor had placed innovation “at the front and centre of his ambition to build a stronger UK economy” by announcing plans to create a new culture of enterprise by reducing and reforming taxes – including R&D tax reliefs for businesses.
“As part of this agenda to reform tax and increase value for money, moves to make R&D tax relief for large businesses more generous are welcome, as are changes to the incentive to recognise the important role of data feeds and storage, cloud computing and pure mathematics,” she said.
“These changes will provide a boost for R&D-intensive and high-growth sectors such as AI, quantum computing and robotics, as well as more traditional sectors such as manufacturing and design.”
She said ForrestBrown was also pleased that the Chancellor had listened to feedback on proposals to restrict relief on overseas R&D, setting out sensible exceptions where there are material or regulatory requirements to carry out activities away from the UK.
“This will help to ensure the UK remains an attractive place for innovative businesses operating in global markets,” she added.
