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Kent shops are facing a race against time this week as they struggle to re-price their entire stock following Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-budget announcement.

VAT will be cut from 17.5 percentage points to 15 percentage points from next week.

Spokesman for the Kent Federation of Small Businesses Andrew Aves has welcomed the cut, but is concerned about what he calls 'undue haste' to introduce the VAT.

He said implementing the changes would be an extremely difficult and major exercise for any business in the county, from newsagents to the big supermarkets.

~ Listen: Andrew Aves tells of the huge amount of work ahead for small businesses >>>

Watch Caroline McGuire's video report at the top of this page.

Meanwhile, Kent reaction has been flooding in after the dramatic government announcement.

Alistair Darling’s pre-budget report was full of smoke and mirrors, according to one Kent expert.

Elizabeth Robertson, a partner with Tunbridge Wells accountants Creaseys said yesterday she and her colleagues were still trying to digest what was a highly complex statement, with much detail still to emerge in the small print.

"It’s always difficult to know what the chancellor is announcing as an immediate measure and what is coming in in 2011," she said. "You’re never quite sure where you are with him.

"It’s another of these smoke and mirrors things. You’re left feeling very confused as to whether you’ve benefited or not but you suspect you haven’t."

Brian Jackson, head of tax for KPMG in Gatwick, covering Kent, said it was "jam today, dripping tomorrow" for the low paid because of higher national insurance.

"Many more lowly earners will also end up paying more tax. Whilst the increase in the personal allowance and NI lower earning contributions will save somebody earning £30,000 a year approx £118 now, this will be wiped out by the 0.5 per cent NIC increases from April 2011. This is a classic case of jam today, dripping tomorrow.

"Many people will feel mildly better off through the reduction in VAT (though even there, if you drink, drive or smoke it will be clawed back), but it will be payback time in April 2011. "

He added: "Today’s PBR got a thumbs-up from the markets and on first sight, many of the measures look positive. Whether it will be enough to avert a deep and prolonged recession remains to be seen.

"And business and employees alike won’t relish the looming prospect of paying more in National Insurance Contributions as this is a tax that is going to be very much felt in people’s wage packets."

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~ Business Editor Trevor Sturgess's pre-budget round-up>>>

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~MP hits out at pre-budget leak>>>

Gary Heynes, head of private clients at Baker Tilly in Tunbridge Wells, warned the increase in national insurance would cost individuals eligible for the basic personal allowance and paying higher rate tax an extra £420 a year.

Phasing our of personal allowances for those earning more than £100,000 will cost individuals more than £1,000.

"As the phase out is in two stages the impact is that anyone earning more than around £115,000 will pay additional tax of around £1,350 per annum and, for earnings above £155,000 around £2,700 in extra tax," Mr Heynes said.

Carolyn Steppler, Associate Partner at KPMG, said: "There are many winners and losers in today’s Pre Budget Report, but possibly the biggest losers look set to be those earning between either £100k-£106.5k and £140k-£146.5k.

"Due to the gradual withdrawal of the personal tax allowance, earners in these income brackets will effectively be paying a 50 per cent rate of tax – by a strange quirk of the system, more even than the now well-heralded 45 per cent rate for those earning £150k plus!"

KPMG chief economist Andrew Smith said the measures were not enough to prevent a recession and warned that if they failed to kick-start the economy, further expansionary measures could be expected next year.