WASHINGTON'S budget tightening is having a minimal effect on businesses, a survey showed yesterday.
The National Association for Business Economics survey asked how higher taxes and lower government spending affected businesses in the US in the first quarter of 2013. Ninety-three percent of respondents say the political developments had no effect on employment levels in the period, and 95 percent say they had no impact on capital spending plans.
Overall, the results painted a picture of businesses feeling better than they were in the fourth quarter, but not as good as they were a year ago.
The NABE cautioned that firms might have already known about the higher taxes and lower government spending in the fourth quarter, and adjusted their hiring and spending plans before the end of 2012.