Amid the madness that was Alistair Darling’s Pre Budget Report 2008 earlier today, a ray of hope as £7bn is set aside to help bolster the small business coffers through the impending recession.

The prime focus of the Pre Budget Report 2008 with regard to small business was to ease cash flow concerns which undoubtedly will bite ever deeper as the recession takes hold through 2009.

Pre Budget Report 2008 Key points:

- The planned 1% increase in corporation tax from 21% to 22% in 2009 has been deferred.  Marginally helpful but only if your small business happens to be turning a profit of course.

- Small business will be allowed to pay off VAT, NI payments and corporation tax over a longer period, although it is not clear yet exactly what this period will be. The inference was “for as long as they need” but expect that interpretation to be dumped pretty quickly.

- £4bn has been set aside by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund small business growth and is to be administered by leading UK banks. Don’t get too excited, this was the same announcement that Alistair Darling made two weeks ago, as reported by smallbusinessvoodoo.com at the time.

- A Small Business Finance Sheme has been introduced with £1bn set aside on a temporary basis to support the cash flow needs of small business. You will, however, need to prove that your business is viable in the first place to receive any funds. This is like saying that the Titanic was sea worthy apart from a 60 foot hole in the side of her hull. But hey ho, let’s not turn our nose up at any help at this stage.

- Empty properties will be made exempt from business rates from 2009 with a caveat that their rateable value must be less than £15,000.

As small business owners rush for the calculators to try and work out whether the chancellor’s Pre Budget Report 2008 has actually given them anything at all, the CBI and business leaders in general have given the propsals a warmish welcome.

However, with rises in fuel duty and national insurance and the propsect of having to pay off £118bn in the not too distant future, each small business will have to decide for itself whether the Pre Budget Report 2008 was cause for celebration or not.

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