FSB in final plea ahead of 2008 Budget

Britain’s largest business organisation has urged the Chancellor to give special consideration to the interests of small firms ahead of Budget day this March.

In its annual submission to the Treasury, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has asked the Government to ‘lay off’ smaller enterprises, following a ‘turbulent’ year for business owners across the country.

‘The past 12 months have seen small businesses receive a series of harsh body-blows from which they are still trying to recover,’ said FSB chairman, John Wright.

‘More hindrance will only see them, and the UK, shoved further backwards.’

The FSB is recommending that the Chancellor abandon plans to raise the cost of fuel and reconsider his proposed reforms on ‘income shifting’ in order to restore small business confidence in the Government.

‘The year has already begun with the threat of a recession which is difficult enough for small businesses to deal with, without having to contend with more obstacles put in the way by the Government,’ Mr Wright continued.

‘This wilting relationship between small businesses and the Government needs to be reinvigorated and 12 March will announce whether Spring is in the air or whether frosty relations continue.’

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