BUDGET 2017: I’M DISAPPOINTED MR CHANCELLOR, IGNORING THE SHARING ECONOMY WILL COST US DEARLY

As a Sharing Economy pioneer and the person credited with first bringing the Sharing Economy to the government’s attention in 2011, frankly, I’m disappointed.

Despite my call to the Treasury to increase the Sharing Economy tax allowance from £1,000 to £4,000 and to accelerate growth of Sharing Economy enterprises and business relocations to the UK by easing red tape, the Chancellor has overlooked his biggest hope for the UK’s economic future.

With the Sharing Economy delivering the biggest societal shift since the Industrial Revolution, the Chancellor has squandered an opportunity to make the UK a world leader in the sector and boost our economic wealth.

Mr Hammond wants to “move forwards and not backwards” and embrace the future. But the Sharing Economy is the future and he has largely ignored it. It is not enough to use the rhetoric of the Sharing Economy without concrete investment.

As we navigate Brexit and uncertain economic prospects, this is the moment to recognise the sustainable, productive future offered by the Sharing Economy.

I look forward to the Chancellor putting his money where his mouth is in 2018.