Gordon Brown plans to spend an extra £5.3m in the West Midlands – so a leading Warwickshire accountancy firm has launched a Tax Helpline to help local businesses make sure they don’t foot more than their fair share of the bill.

Pictured left: shown (from left to right) is the Budget Team speakers – John Payne, Trevor Day, John Hulse and Peter Dubber, partners from Burgis & Bullock. Pictured right: shown (from left to right) is the Budget Team speakers – Trevor Day, Peter Dubber, John Hulse and John Payne, partners from Burgis & Bullock.

Warwickshire-based Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, Burgis & Bullock has launched a 'Budget 2007 Tax Helpline' to help local taxpayers and businesses get to grips with the tax implications and tax saving opportunities after the Budget. Launching the new service after Gordon Brown finished what will almost certainly be his final Budget, John Payne, a Business Tax Partner at the firm said that:

This was more flamboyant than had been expected – and Gordon’s eye was on his own future as much as the future of the economy. And we certainly welcome the extra £5.3m that looks set to be spent by the government in West Midlands. However, given his claims that the Budget is 'broadly neutral', the big increases in spending and the cuts in the headline tax rates must inevitably be paid for by increased tax revenues elsewhere.

So, locally there will be some big losers. On the face of it those losers will include small businesses, who will be faced with a higher corporation tax rate, and higher rate tax payers who look set to pay more in National Insurance. That’s why we’ve launched our free Tax Helpline – to help the winners make the most of the new tax breaks, and help the losers minimise the damage.

What is clear is that this Budget has not waved a magic wand that will improve the performance or the results of the region’s businesses overnight. So, as business owners we must all take a good close look at what the Budget means for us. And we must all continue to take personal responsibility for driving our businesses (and hence the region’s economy) on to even more success.

Readers who would like to take a close look at exactly what the Budget means for them, and what they can now do to cut their tax bills, can do so by calling Burgis & Bullock’s free Tax Helpline on 01926 451000.