Personal tax rates: For 2008-09, it is proposed that the 10% tax rate on the first £2,230 earned will be removed and replaced with a standard 20% rate on first £36,000 earned. Over £36,000, the rate will remain at 40%. Non-savings income (earnings, pensions, self-employed trading profits and income from property, among others) and savings income (bank and building society interest) will be taxed at the basic rate.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT): In the guise of simplification, the Finance Bill removes the 10% and 40% bands of capital gains, and institutes a single rate at 18%. This hits small business owners almost exclusively, while cutting the bigger businesses a break. To compound the problem, the scrapping of taper relief and the removal of any form of indexation is almost as deadly a blow over time.

The FPB, with the rest of the business community, campaigned hard on CGT and prompted the Government to include an entrepreneur's relief on the first million pounds of capital gains. This is a lifetime exemption, however, and will be tracked by HMRC. Anything over the million-pound exemption will be taxed at 18%.

Corporation tax: The impact of corporation tax changes will also be felt disproportionately by smaller businesses – the lower rate of corporation tax rises to 21% in April 2008, then to 22% in 2009. The main rate for businesses with a profit of over £1,500,000 will drop from 30% to 28% in 2009.

The Government is also planning a review in order to simplify the corporation tax process, where the FPB will push for a fairer shake for smaller businesses.

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs): The cash ISA limit has been increased from £3,000 to £3,600 from 6 April 2008. This will increase the incentive to save, but will force savers to take a hit in the long-term, given that the overall ISA limit has only been raised by £200.

Fuel duty pushed back until October 2008: The FPB has already voiced its displeasure at the Government's intention to increase the fuel duty by 2p. The Government has decided to delay this rise until October 2008, but the FPB will continue campaigning to scrap it altogether.