Reasons to be cheerful amid post-Budget gloom

YOU can tell Christmas is around the corner not just because the lights are up and twinkling in town centres across Wales, but because businesses are counting every penny and hoping the festive season will soften what has been a bruising year.

- LLOYD POWELL

But just before Christmas the Budget arrived. After weeks of rumour and leaks, the big reveal at least drew a line under all the speculation.

But for businesses in Wales, that line might feel more like a tally mark on an ever-growing list of financial pressures.

And that sense of strain is reflected in ACCA's post-Budget poll, where 80% of the members who took part said the measures would negatively affect growth across the UK economy.

Already grappling with rising operating costs, businesses must now plan for a future rise in the national minimum wage from April 2026 and National Insurance contributions on salary-sacrificed pensions capped at £2,000 from April 2029 - changes that will squeeze SMEs and dent confidence.

Members fear the overall effect will be reduced hiring, fewer training opportunities, rising closures and reduced investment.

And it's not the revenue alone that worries ACCA, but the creeping complexity.

After years of tinkering, the UK tax system is now hopelessly complex, prone to errors and misinterpretation, and getting more complicated with every piecemeal change.