A new survey by Clarke Bell suggests that the 2025 Autumn Budget could trigger a significant rise in small business closures, with accountants expressing concerns about rising overheads, tax changes and insufficient support for SMEs.
The findings show that 90% of accountants believe the upcoming Budget may lead to increased SME closures in 2026. When evaluating the expected overall effect of the Autumn Budget 2025, 66.7% described the outlook as somewhat negative, while 23.3% described it as very negative.
Conducted in October 2025, the survey gathered views from 30 accountants who advise SMEs. Respondents highlighted tax burdens, reduced business support schemes and increasing staff-related expenses as their primary worries.
