This is a Budget for making things, not for making things up," said George Osborne last week. For those who watched the chancellor’s speech on Budget day, more was the pity.

Osborne, possibly the first chancellor to have delivered three Budgets in under 10 months, has had his hands tied by a combination of his economic inheritance (remember Liam Byrne’s infamous note "There’s no money left") and the coalition’s decision to place deficit reduction at the heart of its fiscal ideology.

This meant there was little for print, or any other industry, to get excited about in his ‘Budget for growth’.

"It does not have a massive impact on SMEs in general," says Compass Business Finance’s Mark Nelson. "We could take the 1p [fuel duty] cut, as opposed to a 1p rise, as a benefit, but this will have marginal impact when you note the rising cost of fuel. The government tinkered without making drastic changes or commitments."

According to Osborne’s Red Book, the measures taken in the 2011 Budget are "intended to give businesses the confidence to invest for the long term, and to reduce the burden of tax and regulation". For larger businesses, particularly multi-nationals, the headline reduction in corporation tax (see 30-second briefing) will be welcomed and, if it leads to greater investment in the UK, the knock-on should have a positive impact on smaller companies.

Nicholas Mockett, partner at Moorgate Capital, says: "By dropping corporation tax by 2% and eventually to 23% the chancellor plans to attract new investment. This strategy previously kick-started the Irish economy."

BPIF corporate affairs director Andy Brown adds: "If we don’t get the economy kick-started, consumers and households will be in a worse position. Osborne’s used the money he’s got to create some incentives and get the economy going again. It would be churlish not to say that some of these measures are helpful."

In addition to the cuts in corporation tax and fuel duty, doubling of the capital gains tax relief limit for entrepreneurs to £10m and the expansion of the Enterprise Investment Scheme could benefit print.

"Given the current market in terms of trying to raise finance from banks and other institutions, if a printer qualifies for EIS investment it could be worthwhile," says Gerry Hoare of Deal Bureau.

"The tax breaks given to entrepreneurs and small or start-up businesses should help to stimulate growth and job creation – by making investment of equity more rewarding," adds Mockett. "Similarly non-doms are encouraged to bring investment money into the UK, while being asked to contribute 66% more to maintain their tax status."

Meanwhile, for SME printers the most tangible encouragement was the one-year extension to the small business rate relief (SBRR) holiday and the three-year moratorium on new business regulations for companies with 10 staff or fewer.

"The SBRR extension will help anyone from a cashflow point of view, as the continuation means they won’t be taking further cash from a printer at a time when it’s already strained," says Nelson. "And there’s so much red tape now that it’s become confusing to the point of being unmanageable – the cost that goes into covering red tape is significant and any scheme that can rectify that is welcome."

Much has been said about rebalancing the economy in favour of the private sector and, despite the slim pickings offered by the chancellor last week, this was a pro-business Budget more than anything else.

Unfortunately, for all his focus on fiscal neutrality and cutting red tape, Osborne passed up the chance to support manufacturing through the introduction of legislation to tackle pre-packs – something that was on the agenda prior to last year’s general election – and to promote prompt payment in the private as well as public sector. Given that legislative changes do not require the complicated fiscal balancing act of some of Osborne’s other measures, this smacks of a missed opportunity.

30-SECOND BRIEFING
Tax competitiveness
• Corporation tax cut from 28% to 26% from April and to 23% by 2014
• Small-profits rate cut from 21% to 20%
Tax simplification
• Abolish 43 tax reliefs whose rationale is no longer valid
• Consult on integrating income tax and National Insurance
• OTS to look at improving tax administration for small business
Deregulation
• Drop existing proposals for £350m of new regulations. This includes not extending time-to-train to firms with fewer than 250 employees
• Exempt micro-businesses and start-ups from new regulations for three years from 1 April 2011
Start-up finance and business growth
• Reform of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts, including raising the rate of EIS income tax relief to 30% from April 2011
• Double the limit on capital gains qualifying for Entrepreneurs’ Relief
• SBRR holiday will be extended by one year from 1 October 2011
Innovation
• Increase in the SME rate of R&D tax credit to 200% from April 2011, and 225% from April 2012; simplification of the R&D tax credit schemes
Investment
• Double the limit on short life assets election
• Create 21 urban Enterprise Zones
Skills
• Fund 80,000 extra work experience places for young people
• Create £180m fund for up to 50,000 additional apprenticeship places over the next four years
Fuel duty
• Fuel duty cut by 1p per litre
• Abolish the fuel duty escalator and replace it with a fair fuel stabiliser