Event organisers slam Budget
Events industry representatives have criticised Alistair Darling's Budget, with one describing it as a "wolf in sheep's clothing".
The Budget, announced on Wednesday (March 24th), includes provisions for small business start-ups but there are also set to be above-inflation increases in tax on alcohol and cigarettes.
Event organisers Duncan Reid, UBM portfolio director, and Richard Beggs, director of Moving Venue, were sceptical about the chancellor's announcements.
Mr Reid told Event magazine that he did not think Mr Darling would be in Number 11 after the next election, whoever wins, adding that talking about things which will not happen until 2013 was "fairly pointless".
"I believe businesses should not be accountable for bank negligence," Mr Beggs told the news provider, referring to duty increases on alcohol which he said would affect the catering industry.
Event organisers have already had a tough time recently, with UBM recently announcing a 1.5 per cent fall in revenue in 2009. The company said that this was a "disciplined and resilient" performance considering the economic climate.