George Osborne has given his final Budget speech before the general election. Here's our quick summary of the main points in the Budget 2015 that affect you, UK's entrepreneurs:
TechNorth
This year has seen a lot of talk about the growth in tech across the UK rather than the usual focus on just London. The Chancellor George Osborne announced that £11m would be pumped into creating new tech incubators in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester to help develop those hubs.
IoT & Driverless Cars
£40m investment will be put into IoT (Internet of Things) and £100m investment into the automotive industry for the development of technology around driverless cars!
SEIS/EIS
No longer will startups have to wait until 70% of the funds raised under SEIS are spent before raising EIS.
Backing Fintech
In a huge step forward the government will look to ensure an open banking API standard by the end of 2015. This will be a huge opportunity for fin tech startups who can make use of use bank data to better deliver services for customers.
Broadband
The Chancellor announced ‘that ultrafast broadband of at least 100Mbps should be available to nearly all UK premises’. Unfortunately he didn't mention when and how but did mention an increase in broadband connection vouchers. He also mentioned commitment to free wifi in libraries and up to £600m to clear spectrum to improve mobile connectivity.
NI
Class 2 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed to be abolished entirely in the next parliament.
The Budget 2015 announcement by the chancellor George Osborne is a sensible step towards progress in light of an upcoming election. However lets hope for more concrete measures in the next budget that can further help support our small and growing businesses today.
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