Two of Scotland’s best known business leaders have highlighted what they believe are the major ‘plus points’ in the budget announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. 

Speaking on their Go Radio Business Show, Lord Willie Haughey said: “The good thing with the budget is there are never any surprises because they leak everything two or three days beforehand.

“So we all knew what he was going to say and there were no surprises. He did try to steal Labour’s clothes by talking about the non-dom tax. And we all knew there was going to be the cut in National Insurance.”

He added: “The truth is, I have always been against increases in NI payments. You can increase corporation tax, you can increase individual tax. However, an increase in NI means you’ll pay this even if you’re not making money as a company, whereas the other taxes are all based on you actually making money.

“So I think cutting NI is a good thing.”

His radio show co-host Sir Tom Hunter agreed, adding: “It means another two pence cut on top of a two pence cut in the autumn statement. So that is going to be worth about £900 a year to the average worker. That’s whether you’re an employee or you’re self-employed.

“The other good thing about it is, despite the six different income tax bands in Scotland, this doesn’t affect Scotland like that. So Jeremy Hunt has put money into the pockets of Scottish workers and the Scottish self-employed.

Sir Tom also noted: “The Chancellor has put up the VAT threshold for small businesses ­from £85,000 to £90,000. This means, if your business turns over £90,000, you don’t need to register for VAT so you can save that.

“That’s great and I think it’s a good thing for small businesses ­­­– and, as we know, small businesses are the lifeblood of the Scottish economy.”