The chancellor announced a series of tax-cutting measures in yesterday’s Pre-Budget Report. The main changes include:

1. The main rate of Value Added Tax will, from December 1st, be reduced from 17.5% to 15% until the end of 2009.

2. Deferral of the increase in the small companies’ rate of corporation tax. The rate will stay at 21% from April, instead of rising to 22% as previously announced.

3. National Insurance rates will increase by 0.5% from 2011 - for both employers and employees.

4. A 45% rate income tax band will apply to salaries of £150,000 and above after the next General Election.

5. The £120 rebate for basic rate taxpayers will remain and will be increased to £145 from April 2009.

6. A new Small Business Finance Scheme to support up to £1 billion of bank lending; a separate £1 billion guarantee facility to support bank lending to small exporters; a £50 million fund to convert businesses’ debt into equity; and a £25 million regional loan transition fund.

8. Introduction of a new HMRC Business Payment Support Service to allow businesses in temporary financial difficulty to pay their HMRC tax bills on a timetable they can afford.

9. Changes to the taxation of foreign profits - including the introduction of a foreign dividend exemption for large and medium-sized businesses, supported by a worldwide debt cap on interest.

The current economic climate is acting as a spur for thousands of people to become their own boss and to start a business from home, according to a new report by Enterprise Nation and BT.

The 2008 Home Business Report, launched as part of Small Business Week 2008, highlights a 16 per cent rise over the last year in the number of businesses being run from home. There are now more than 2.5 million home businesses, accounting for more than half (53 per cent) of the 4.7 million small and medium sized enterprises in the UK.

Home based businesses are also bucking the trend when it comes to confidence in their prospects during the financial crisis. They are buoyantly optimistic about beating the adverse economic conditions, with 72 per cent planning to win new customers over the next six months, two thirds (66 per cent) planning to increase turnover and more than half (58 per cent) developing new products and services.

The freedom to make their own decisions is the most popular reason (33 per cent) why home based business people enjoy being their own boss, closely followed by the benefits of a better work/life balance (24 per cent).

The use of technology is a critical factor in the start up and growth of home businesses - a view held by 82 per cent of business owners, with more than half of them (52 per cent) spending between 500 to 1,000 on Information Technology each year.

Home business owners view their spending on technology as a valuable return on investment as it helps to keep their costs low and their sales and productivity high.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs in the UK are crying out for mentoring and coaching advice, according to research released from Yell.com.

Undoubtedly fuelled by worries about the current economic climate and the future of their careers and businesses, people are increasingly turning to the internet to find business mentoring, support and business advice. Throughout the last three months, searches for mentoring and coaching on Yell.com have increased by 116 per cent above the monthly average for 2008.