Only a fifth of small business owners believe that this week's Budget will have a significant impact on their firms, according to new research from the Forum of Private Business (FPB).

The FPB found that only 22% are factoring the budget in their plans for 2010 and even fewer small business owners believe the general election will have an effect on their plans, at just 19%.

The survey revealed that sales and turnover is the leading concern for small firms when planning for 2010, emerging as an issue for 77% of respondents.

"I think there's a certain amount of cynicism about this year's Budget and this research reflects that. A lot of business owners are simply presuming that there's going to be another budget straight after the election so they're not paying it too much attention," said Thomas Parry of the FPB.