One of the UK's top accountancy firms has warned chancellor Gordon Brown to keep his hands off small businesses in next month's budget.
PKF has stressed if the Chancellor "is serious" about wanting small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to thrive he should turn from the private sector and concentrate on the public sector on April 17.
Ian Greenidge, partner in charge of PKF's Colchester office, explained: "It is vital to the UK's economic health that SMEs are left alone to get on with running their businesses unhindered.
"As the main drivers for economic growth, product innovation and job creation in this country, what they need from this Budget is minimum change.
"If Gordon Brown is determined to make changes, he should look to the public sector."
Mr Greenidge, president of the East Anglian Society of Chartered Accountants, said if Mr Brown "wants to meddle", he should keep the cost base down and remove anomalies, such as the differences in the rules for tax and National Insurance (NI).
Nearly 90 per cent of businesses in Essex are SMEs. SMEs employ 55.5 per cent of the UK private sector workforce and account for 44.7 per cent of business turnover.
Published Wednesday, March 13, 2002
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