What the Tory-led coalition will mean for small business

For the million-plus small business owners in the UK, the 'selection' of the Conservatives by the Liberal Democrats as coalition partners will come as a huge relief.

Assuming the Lib-Dems have not negotiated assurances from the Tories to the contrary, we can expect the following pledges to be enacted over the coming year:

A reduction in the the small companies' rate of corporation tax from 22p to 20p

More sources of business credit to be made available to SMEs

A two year exemption in National Insurance contributions for all businesses that start up from today onwards from all Employers National Insurance contributions for the first ten employees.