The general consensus in Northern Ireland following last week's Budget is that it was a tough one. 

Business representative groups have expressed concern saying the increases to the employer cost bases will increase the burden on businesses.

Joel Neill, operations director of Hospitality Ulster, said the Budget has done nothing but increase the cost of doing business.

“While our hospitality colleagues in England and Wales are rightly upset at the lowering of the 75 per cent business rates relief to the 40 per cent announced in today’s Budget, hospitality businesses in Northern Ireland were never party to this relief,” he said.

“Paired with the Budget’s increase of the National Minimum and Living Wage, increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions and decrease in the threshold for those contributions, today’s Budget will have done nothing but increase the cost of doing business for hospitality.

“We all want to see people paid more.

“Our members want to reward good work and make work pay but what is being asked of businesses is simply unsustainable if taxes are going to shoot up at the same time.

“Without the extension of rates relief to Northern Ireland’s hospitality businesses or a decrease to VAT, these measures will only threaten employment and businesses in the sector.”

Michael Cadden, Managing Director of Pat's Bar, Enniskillen Hotel and Lusty Beg Island Resort, agreed with this. 

He feels the 'London-centric budget' is putting more pressure on the regions, SMEs and in particular hospitality.

Mr. Cadden believes that lower VAT for the hospitality sector is the "biggest lever available" for helping businesses in Northern Ireland.

At 9 per cent, that would allow parity with competitors across the border and allow the industry to absorb these rises (and the last 2 years' cost inflation) without increasing prices and remaining viable. To make full margin, we would need to be selling pints of beer at £6/7 per pint."

"Ideally, soften the blow on national minimum wage increases with a lower rate of National Insurance Contributions for the increase, but too late for that now."

"Look at business rate reform. On top of all of this, we are looking at yearly percentage increases in rates due to the forum, so the calculation needs to change."

"Regional policies taking factors like disposable income into account when setting tax rates: it's going to cost approximately £2,500 more per full-time employee on the minimum wage to employ, and customers won’t accept that level of price increase."

"The hospitality rates relief given to Stormont by Westminster, which has never materialized, would be helpful right now."