Nine in ten Chartered Accountants say UK Budget won’t boost growth

MEDIA STATEMENT - Nine in ten Chartered Accountants do not expect the UK Government’s Budget to boost economic growth, according to a new survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

Conducted immediately after the Chancellor’s 28 October Budget, the survey’s findings show that 45% of respondents expect the announced measures to have a negative impact on UK economic growth, with just 8% expecting its impact to be a positive one. Almost half (47%) anticipate neither a positive nor negative change.  

When asked how confident they were in the current health of the UK economy, seven in ten (70%) respondents said they are not confident, compared with 6% who said they are.  

Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) disagreed that the Budget had increased their trust in the Government’s approach to the economy, including 32% who strongly disagreed. Just 13% agreed that their trust had increased.  

The Budget combined energy bill support and expanded business rates relief in England with a higher National Living Wage and proposed Founders’ Relief. It also announced tax increases, including a temporary rise in the surcharge on bank profits, higher rates on savings and property income, and a reduction in the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief. 

In a separate ICAS survey before the Budget, 63% of respondents selected tax simplification and certainty as a priority for long-term growth. Sustainable public finances and reducing business cost pressures were selected by 58% and 53% respectively.