Budget lacks bonus for UK IT businesses
Scepticism in the channel over Chancellor's promises to cut red tape
Gordon Brown has ridden roughshod over the UK's business community in this year's budget, offering no incentives to the IT sector.
Channel players have expressed particular disappointment that tax breaks for SMEs on IT equipment has not been reinstated, as many had predicted.
"I'm very disappointed that the accelerated capital allowance has not been reinstated," said Victor Dauppe, partner at accountancy firm MacIntyre Hudson.
"There is not much to interest resellers: it is an immensely boring Budget."
Keith Warburton, executive director of the PC Association, said it was all based around the forthcoming election.
"There is not a great deal there for businesses. If the Chancellor feels he doesn't need to do much in that area, then UK businesses must be doing quite well," he said.
Paul Barlow, managing director of VAR Equanet, said the only part of the Budget that was of interest to him were the attempts by the government to cut red tape through taking on board the recommendations of the Better Regulation Taskforce.
Brown said in his speech that he will "remove unnecessary barriers to profitable enterprise" and reduce regulatory burdens on businesses.
"If the government can get this right, it will help all businesses, large and small," Barlow said. "There's a lot of red tape, so if the government keeps its promises this could have a definite effect."
But Carol Undy, The Federation for Small Businesses' national chairman, is sceptical about the government sticking to its guns. "Businesses have been promised bonfires of red tape in the past, but they have never been ignited," she said.
"The Better Regulation Task-force report is certainly radical, but whether or not it results in "a red tape revolution" awaits to be seen. Businesses are cynical because of past broken promises: 30 reports, seven white papers and two acts of parliament during the past 20 years alone."