The Chancellor George Osborne delivered his fifth Budget statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday 19 March. Here’s a summary of Budget 2014 measures that affect businesses.
- Exports: the reach and support that UK Trade and Investment offers to businesses will be expanded
- Housing: £0.5bn of finance to support small house-building firms
- Apprenticeships: the apprenticeships grant for small employers is extended
- Business rates: discounts for businesses in enterprise zones extended for three years
- R&D: the research and development tax credit for small loss-making firms increases from 11 per cent to 14.5 per cent
- Capital investment: the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is doubled to £500,000 from April 2014 and extended to 2015
- Energy: the carbon price floor is frozen at £18 per ton of carbon dioxide from 2016 until 2020; compensation for energy-intensive industries extended to 2019/20.
See our other news stories for measures affecting personal finances and a round-up of other headline announcements.
Also, bookmark our Budget 2014 pages for the detailed guide to the Chancellor’s statement that we will publish later today.
