‘Budget must make an impact' (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

‘Budget must make an impact'

11:00am Monday 18th March 2013 in Business By Chris Holland, Business Reporter

Local chartered accountants say Chancellor George Osborne should address three priorities in the Budget this week.

Wilma Teviotdale, president of the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants, said the Governent needed to make significant progress on improving access to finance, export support and limiting the number of business tax changes.

She said: “This Budget is the last chance for the Chancellor to announce policies that will filter down and have an impact on businesses before 2015. Unless that happens, I fear that we will continue to have a low growth economy for a number of years.”

West Yorkshire accountants wanted the Government to focus on improving access to finance for smaller companies and provide guarantees for start-up and early-stage businesses unable to access bank loans and overdrafts.

A recent survey showed that 70 per cent had seen no progress vy the the Government in creating incentives to export – even though the Chancellor had set a £1 trillion export target for 2020.