Commenting on announcements made by the Chancellor today for the SME community in the UK, David Bywater, Tax Partner at KPMG said :
“The Chancellor announced a number of micro issues today aimed at Britain’s 4.8 million SME community to help stimulate activity and increase employment in the UK. Introducing the employment allowance of £2,000 for each business will give smaller businesses the confidence to take on that extra employee, helping to boost employment across the country.
“The Chancellor sent out a strong signal that he wants more investment in the SME sector, signalling the vital role they have to play in getting the economy back on to its feet. Extending the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme is clearly welcome, and abolishing stamp duty for AIM listed companies sends out a message that London and the AIM market is the place to list and raise finance for fast growing companies.
“The measures announced to promote the infrastructure and housing markets will have a drip feed effect on the SME community, but only if they truly translate into real activity across these sectors, which has been a challenge with previous initiatives that have been put in place.
“Finally, announcements around increasing the rate for ‘above the line’ R&D tax credits and most importantly, reducing the Corporation Tax rate to 20 per cent from 2015, sends out a clear message that the UK has one of the most attractive business tax regimes globally.”
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KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.8 billion in the year ended September 2012. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 156 countries and have 152,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
