Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent tax increases on small and medium businesses.

The Government inherited a very difficult fiscal situation and so we are asking businesses to contribute to fixing the public finances and our public services.

At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced tax reforms to support smaller businesses. Including, more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; committing in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds, as well as maintaining the Annual Investment Allowance; and freezing the small businesses multiplier for 2025/26. In the transition to permanently lower business rates burden for the high street, through lower multipliers for Retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) businesses from April 2026, RHL business rates relief will also be extended for one year at 40% (up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business). If the Government had not acted, the current RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025.