Little assistance offered in Budget
LOCAL manufacturers have been left distinctly under-whelmed by last week’s Budget, with three out of four believing they should have benefited from more government assistance.
The results of an nebusiness.co.uk poll show the Budget did little to win back the confidence of manufacturers, with complex and costly taxation policies proving especially unpopular.
Jeremy Jones, director of Middlesbrough-based precision engineering firm F Jones Cleveland, said the government was giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
He said: “The reduction in corporation tax has been more than offset by capital gains, which could throw a spanner in the works in terms of our future planning.”
Alan Hall, director of manufacturers’ association EEF Northern, said manufacturers would welcome state subsidies to lessen the financial burden of company apprenticeship schemes.
