Budget 2025: Phil Smith, Managing Director of Business West, gives his verdict

This is a tax raising budget from a Chancellor under pressure. Businesses will once again feel squeezed with rising costs across a range of areas, which are likely to dampen business sentiment, job creation and investment. Businesses are still coming to terms with the 2024 budget, the increased tax burden and raised cost of doing business.

Ultimately, this budget is unlikely to shift the dial when it comes to business confidence, or economic growth.

The Chancellor introduced a wide range of levies, taxes and reforms affecting businesses, which we will be consulting our members on. The change to salary sacrifice thresholds is essentially a business tax in the same spirit as the National Insurance rise, and will not be welcomed by the business community.

However, we do welcome the Growth and Skills Levy and Youth Guarantee, which is good news for attracting fresh talent into the labour market. I’m sure many of our members will welcome free apprenticeship training for under 25s.

This budget has also now allocated funding to the Industrial Strategy and Spending Review’s commitments, which are welcomed measures to improve transport, housing and infrastructure for our region and beyond.

Phil Smith, Managing Director, Business West