Think about the regions, not just the headlines

“The election-grabbing piecemeal measures he announced in December will have a limited impact on Yorkshire’s high streets. The radical reform required would be to freeze rates until 2017 and then implement regular revaluations every three years enabling changes in the property market to be more immediately reflected in rates payable.

“In Bradford, for example, these 2017 changes would come into effect around the time the new Westfield scheme opens and would radically reduce rates on retail units throughout the city centre enabling a revitalisation of the city’s shopping.”

Jonathan Oxley, director of corporate finance at Lupton Fawcett Denison Till, said: “My priorities would be freezing business rates until 2017 and extending small business rate relief, abolishing stamp duty on share transactions, merging NI and income tax because employees’ national insurance is a classic ‘stealth’ income tax anyway, increasing personal allowances significantly and raising the 40 per cent income tax threshold to at least £40,000 as that incentivises aspiring workers to achieve, and selling government assets to reduce public debt. A reduction in VAT is probably unrealistic until we can remove the fiscal hair shirt, but we can dream…”

Andrew Palmer, CBI regional director, said: “It’s vital that we have a robust carbon price across Europe if we are to obtain the investment in energy infrastructure that the UK needs.”

Kevin O’Connor, of Baker Tilly, said: “My wishlist for the Budget would include a more balanced regional transport infrastructure spend, greater regional autonomy, reduced tax red tape, a cut in the top rate of tax back to 40 per cent and merging tax. NIC-NIC is a tax anyway so let’s just recognise it.”

Nimble Thompson, deputy chairman of the Institute of Directors in Yorkshire, said: “I would like to see the Chancellor do very little and do nothing simply to grab headlines. Points he should consider are a review of business rates which are causing great difficulties, especially on the high streets of smaller towns, push greater house building, which is desperately needed and would have a run on effect for all those supplying such things as curtains and kitchens. One option is to remove National Insurance from all apprenticeships. Yes, that would be a headline grabber, but not a bad one!”

Andrew Machutchon, senior partner at the Mackenzie Partnership and regional vice chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses: “ We would like to see the Chancellor set an appropriate national minimum wage to stem the fall in real wages for the lowest earners.”

Bill Adams, regional secretary of the Yorkshire and Humber TUC: “The regional TUC calls on the Government to boost investment in capital spending, to support home building to ease the housing shortage and to support the green economy reducing interest rates payable on green deal loans. We are also looking for corporate governance and banking reform to be speeded up and further support for the Green Investment Bank to issue bonds.

Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire: “There needs to be measures which make investing in apprenticeships and increasing skills more attractive for employers, and to encourage young people to take up these opportunities. Additionally, some form of increased incentive, such as a rebate, to invest in capital equipment, would help to boost many businesses looking to drive forward as we move out of the downturn.

David Bagley, who holds a series of non executive directorships, said: “Young people as a group have been real casualties of this recession – graduates and school leavers alike. This is a tragic waste of resources but, worse, we run the risk of creating a disaffected group amongst this generation.”

Matthew Stroh, of Grant Thornton, said: “Regional policy: investment in London is fantastic when it has national benefit, but we see little trickle-down of the London investment to the regions. Cross-rail is progressing and Cross-rail 2 already being planned in London, but even if HS2 is the right answer for Yorkshire, it’s not kick-starting the construction industry now. Can further tax incentives be offered to encourage regional investment?

“Planning for the long-term: can the Chancellor provide an NIC exemption for employers and employees for the duration of an apprenticeship to encourage further businesses 
to invest in equipping people with the right skills for tomorrow’s market?”