A LEADING Dartford firm has welcomed planned tax breaks but the area's small business leaders want to see equal support for small companies. Budget day came early for big business last week when Gordon Brown announced a number of tax changes aimed at the UK's larger companies.

GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company which has a site in Central Road, Dartford, will be one of the companies benefiting from a new tax credit for research and development. An illustrative rate of 20 per cent would imply a total cost of about £300 million.

A GlaxoSmithKline spokesman said: "We welcome any encouragement to increase research and development spent in finding new medicines for untreatable diseases. These tax breaks will go some way to achieving that."

There will also be a tax exemption for sales of significant shareholdings, expected to be worth £150 million a year to business and a tax relief on the cost of intangible assets, worth £200 million at first and rising to £350 million a year in the longer term. Although North Kent Chamber of Commerce welcomed the budget proposals it urged for an equally generous spend on small firms.

Chief executive Michael Pead said: "A similar package of support of the order of £500 million plus would go a long way to satisfying our own budget demands for supporting small employers and promoting investment and innovation in small manufacturing firms."

Graham Sawell, Gravesham Chamber of Commerce chief executive thinks the tax breaks will help North Kent. He said: "We welcome any reductions in tax on both large and small business which can only promote employment projects throughout Kent Thameside."