20 March 2014
“Overall, today’s Budget will have less effect on hairdressing salons than the work the government is already doing in other, more core areas, such as reforming apprenticeships and business rates, revitalising the high street and looking at ways to improve car parking and traffic flow in town centres.
“But there were, nevertheless, a number of potentially positive announcements, including the expansion of the Annual Investment Allowance, the extension of business rates discounts within enterprise zones and the simplifying of national insurance contributions for self-employed workers.
“Raising the income tax threshold to lift more low paid workers out of paying tax altogether is also likely to be beneficial to a labour-intensive, relatively low wage industry such as hairdressing. But it will need to be set against the negative effect on employment in our sector that we are expecting from this autumn’s rise in the national minimum wage.
“The extension in funding of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers scheme is also welcome. Hairdressing, barbering and beauty employers, including NHBF members, are in the second wave of the government’s ‘trailblazers’ helping to reform apprenticeships – anything that encourages small businesses to invest in apprentices, as this grant does, is positive.”