Taxing company profits would have been a fairer way to raise the £40bn extra that the chancellor was looking for in her first Budget instead of hitting employment costs, says a haulage firm boss.

Carl Lankester, director of Emirates Logistics Services in Felixstowe, gave chancellor Rachel Reeves' first Budget a "thumbs sideways".

He welcomed the freezing of fuel duty but said that a corporation tax rise would have been better than a rise in National Insurance tax for employers.

He employs 19 people and said the tax would hit firms' bottom lines - and lead to knock-on effects for pay down the line.

Company bosses are smarting from the lowering of the employers' National Insurance contributions threshold from £9,100 to £5,000 - which came as an unexpected announcement on top of the anticipated 1.2% rise in the tax itself.

For Carl, it meant an extra £20k on his bottom line. The haulage industry has been under big cost pressures.

He added: "An extra £500m in the roads budget to fix potholes and carriageways will help but with the state of Britains roads then I do worry that this amount falls short of what is needed."

Suffolk's businesses are counting the cost of the Labour government's first Budget - while welcoming some of the measures.

Firms were braced for tax and minimum wage rises - but were taken by surprise by the lowering of the employers' National Insurance contributions

Toby Warren, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce head of policy Toby Warren said the tax rises would hit the county's businesses hard.

Toby Warren (Image: Suffolk Chamber)

"It is disappointing that the bad news was not balanced with more good news for the Suffolk economy," he said.

"While some of the tax rises in today's budget were not as bad as some had expected, the increase in employers' national insurance contributions will hit Suffolk businesses hard and do little to deliver the economic growth that the government wants.

"On top of this while the chancellor spoke about the need to invest, at the moment transport investment will mainly be in rail projects in the North - not in long overdue improvements to key rail junctions at Haughley and Ely.

"Improvements that would not only boost the Suffolk economy but also the UK economy, as the junctions will be able to handle more freight from Felixstowe."

Colin Low, managing director of financial planning firm Kingsfleet in Ipswich, warned of the cumulative effect of minimum wage increases on businesses.

Colin Low (Image: NQ) The minimum wage will rise from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 ( or £23,800 a year for a full-time worker) next April.

He added: "As an adviser, we will need to fully understand the impact and detail of the proposed changes to pension legislation and Inheritance Tax. 

"As most personal pension arrangements are written within Discretionary Trusts, this may be more complex than the proposals are suggesting.

Changes to Business and Agricultural Relief limits would also have an impact, he said. 

"Businesses moving down a generation are now to be taxed at 20% (after the first million) and that is an enormous additional expense for grieving families to have to find," he warned.

Candy Richards, development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the Budget painted a "mixed picture" for small business.

(Image: FSB)

“Increasing the employment allowance for small businesses so significantly is a welcome move and something that FSB has consistently called for. With the rise from £5,000 to £10,500, it will shield the smallest employers from the jobs tax," she said. 

Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses would benefit from an extension of the business rates relief - with wider reform from 2026 onwards - but the devil would be in the detail, she said.