ENTREPRENEUR Ryan Howsam, who grew up in a council house and now runs a £1.3billion business, has slammed Labour's Budget as an 'absolute disaster' for small firms.Family-run businesses form around 86% of the UK's private sector, according to the Family Business Research Foundation, most of which are considered "small to medium" businesses .
"I come from a council house background, so I'm as working class as you get and I understand people having less disposable income. "Most family businesses are not quoted on the stock market, which means HMRC will have to put an arbitrary value on them, and then the family has just got to come up with that money," he explained.
"So, these families have worked their whole lives, but they will be forced to sell the business or try to come up with an awful lot of money. It's a really stupid move."Mr Howsam added that targeting wealth and businesses will ultimately end up increasing taxes for everyone if those people decide to leave the UK.