A poll of more than FSB 800 members revealed 45% said George Osborne’s latest Budget will not affect the day-to-day running of their business, while 31% think it will have a positive impact.
Four in 10 (42%) members said that they would not be better off as a result of the actions taken by the Chancellor last week.
However, of the members who said they would be better off, over half claimed they will get a £1 to £1,000 boost to cash-flow in the next year.
John Walker, national chairman for the FSB, said: “The Budget was pro-business and we are pleased that the government has extended small business rate relief and scrapped the planned 1p rise in fuel duty.
“But, as the results from the poll show, the Budget has not hurt small businesses, but it won’t help them to grow either.”
He added: “While we welcome the introduction of Enterprise Zones across parts of the UK, the missing link in the Budget was measures to help all UK businesses to take on staff and grow their business. This could have been done easily through extending the National Insurance Contributions holiday to micro-businesses.”
The poll showed that the reduction in Corporation Tax (50%), the increase in the Approved Mileage Allowance (40%) and the freeze on new domestic regulations (37%) were among the announcements that had the most positive impact on member businesses.
More than half of respondents (52%) said that the introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser would also have a positive impact.
However, the FSB said that it does not go far enough to protect businesses from volatile price increases.
