text: 78% of small business owners say the 2017 Spring Budget is bad news
  Here's what small businesses are saying about the 2017 Spring Budget
  It's no surprise that small businesses and the self-employed weren't impressed by Chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget, given the outcry regarding Class 4 NICs. But with the government making a u-turn on that particular pledge, could the 2017 Spring Budget actually be good for SMEs?
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  78% say budget will impact them negatively
  Immediately after the budget was announced, we asked small business owners how the news would affect them. The vast majority felt that this year's Budget would have a negative effect on their business.
  However, 69 per cent said that the biggest impact would be the increase to NICs. With that out of the picture, could things be looking rather more rosy for small businesses?
  Small business rate relief most popular among SMEs
  Of those who thought the budget would work out in their favour, the vast majority thought so because of the changes to small business rate relief. The proposed cap will mean that businesses coming out of small business rate relief won't pay more than an extra £50 each month.
  The other positive was the cut to tax rates for pubs, but with only two per cent of respondents saying it would have the most impact on their business, it would be a stretch to call it popular among the people we polled.
  Making Tax Digital still doesn't appeal to small businesses
  However, even though small businesses are in favour of some of the proposed changes, others are still proving unpopular. Making Tax Digital was the second least popular of everything mentioned in the Budget - which is no wonder, given the huge financial burden it could be placing on small businesses.
  But a lot of what the Chancellor announced had no impact at all in our poll. R&D tax credits for small businesses, the continued freeze on fuel, alcohol and tobacco duty, and the proposed green paper on consumer markets racked up zero votes when we asked small business owners which item on the budget would impact them the most.