A BUSINESS boss has given the Budget mixed reviews.

David Burch, director of policy at Essex Chambers of Commerce, said although he had hoped for a better deal for Essex, he was relieved more than 880 small firm owners in Colchester had escaped a VAT hit.

Chancellor Phillip Hammond had been expected to drop the threshold businesses must turnover before paying VAT from £85,000 to £20,000 in a bid to “shake up VAT”.

In Colchester, that move would have seen unregistered firms pay an average of £2,978 extra per year, bringing the Government £2,640,908 extra in tax.

But the Chancellor, who argued the threshold could discourage businesses from expanding, opted against any change but said the threshold would be reviewed.

Mr Burch welcomed that decision but said more needed to be done to help businesses.

He said: “We obviously welcome the announcement that the VAT threshold will be capped at £85,000, which will be a real benefit to the small businesses that make up the back bone of the Essex economy.

“About 99 per cent of businesses are small or medium-sized businesses.”

Mr Hammond also announced a change in the way business rates will be calculated.

From April next year, the rates will be based upon the Consumer Prices Index instead of the Retail Prices Index, which is usually about one per cent higher.

Mr Burch added: “Business rates are a major issue for many businesses, so we welcome the proposals to switch from the Retail Prices Index to the Consumer Prices Index in April.

“This is something that we and the British Chambers of Com - merce have been strongly campaigning for and will hopefully bring some relief to the businesses of Essex.

“The various proposals announced by the Chancellor to boost the housing market are also very welcome given the keen interest in bringing forward housing developments across the county, but we wait to see how these will translate in practice. “

The policy director also said Mr Hammond’s pledge to stimulate the development of driverless cars and to increase charging points could prove useful as three new towns are built in Essex - including one each to the east and west of Colchester - in the forthcoming years.

He said: “We welcome these proposals and we hope they will be reflected in the emerging proposals for garden communities in Essex where such technology could be of real benefit.”

Mr Burch also noted the support given to the Northern Powerhouse but said he was “disappointed not to see a recognition of the importance of the south east to the UK economy”.

He added: “As ever, there may well be announcements to benefit the south east including Essex to come but without a strong economy in these areas, the Government won’t see the full benefit of their policies for other parts of the UK.”