The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement delivers hope to the countryside by stimulating the rural economy with a promise to reform the planning system, simplify tax for small businesses and overhaul the broadband infrastructure, CLA President Harry Cotterell said today.
Mr Cotterell said: ’The creation of the Community Rural Broadband Fund with a pot of ’20million to help provide superfast broadband is great news, although we must not forget the remaining 10 percent of rural homes and businesses that will still not have access to good broadband.
’A flexible and deregulated planning system is essential for delivering rural growth in the short-term. Well done to the Chancellor for confirming that the presumption in favour of sustainable development will stay in the National Planning Policy Framework. This is extremely welcome, as is the consultation to use redundant agricultural buildings for other business purposes which the CLA has called for since 2004.’
The CLA President added: ’We support the Chancellor’s desire to simplify small business taxation. The majority of our members run, own and manage small businesses and virtually of all of them find the tax regime a numerical obstacle course. We encourage the Chancellor to be bold and will engage with the Government to try to make sure tax simplification works in practice.’
And Mr Cotterell said the CLA was delighted that the Government intends to review the way in which the Habitats Directive is implemented.
He said: ’The Government is starting to melt the goldplating on this directive. We support conservation, but it is important that humans are considered as important as bats, newts and dormice.’
Andrew Arnott from Saffery Champness Landed Estates & Rural Business Group Partners comments
’Any predictions for reducing the top level of income tax, help for savers or other headline measures were short lived in an Autumn Statement delivered by Chancellor George Osborne today aimed at keeping interest rates as low as possible whilst continuing to rebalance the UK economy.
’One - and perhaps the only measure of interest to rural businesses - is the cancellation of the planned fuel duty increase from 1 January 2012, and a reduction in the next rise in August 2012 to be limited to 2p.
Richard Cartwright says: ’The campaign to introduce super-fast broadband continues, but today’s announcement of ’100 million investment will boost broadband speed and coverage in the major UK cities to include Edinburgh in the first phase rather than in rural areas.
’The Chancellor also announced an extension of the EIS scheme to support start-up businesses that would give investors 50 per cent income tax relief for investing in business start-ups coupled with a 12 month Capital Gains Tax (CGT) holiday’ says Saffery Champness.
Andrew Arnott adds: ’There were a number of the measures announced in relation to new homes, construction and planning reform that relate only to England and not to the devolved administrations.
’In a separate announcement, Government has confirmed that those gifting pre-eminent works of art or historical objects to the Nation may receive a reduction in their income tax or CGT liabilities of up to ’30 million per year overall’, Andrew Arnott concludes.
