‘Punished in every way’: British firms say they’ll be worse off after the Budget

Most British businesses expect to take a hit from last week’s Budget in a damning verdict a week on from John Healey’s inaugural set-piece fiscal speech. As much as 52 per cent of firms expect their business to be worse off as a result of policies announced in the Budget, while one in five say they will be “much worse off.” Just 10 per cent said they expected to be better off as a result, while a third said they anticipated no real difference. The findings, shared with City AM, were obtained from hundreds of small and medium-sized British business customers surveyed by Capital on Tap, a fintech providing business credit cards and spend management tools for SMEs. Hikes to the minimum wage were set to be the biggest Budget hit to firms finances, the survey found, with one in three reporting it as the biggest business impact. That was followed by higher tax on savings and property income (11 per cent) and business rates changes (9 per cent). There is no incentive to