Time for a budget to help small businesses
Press Release :
11 March 2008
Ahead of this year’s Budget, Robin Walker, Parliamentary Candidate for Worcester joined calls on Alistair Darling to cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28p to 25p and to abandon the Government’s planned increase in the small companies rate from 20p to 22p.
He backed the proposal as part of a revenue neutral package put forward by the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, funded by reductions in capital allowances and scrapping complex reliefs introduced by Gordon Brown.
Cutting corporate tax rates would be an important boost to the competitiveness of the British economy in difficult economic times, and a welcome simplification of the tax system.
After years of mismanagement the UK is now burdened with the largest budget deficit in the developed world so there is no immediate scope for net reductions in business taxes. However, reducing the headline rate of corporation tax would be a good start on the road to making the economy more competitive.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Robin said:
“In order to achieve economic growth and create new jobs any government needs to understand and support the business world. I am deeply concerned that Labour doesn’t understand business and their tax increases over the last few years are just one more sign of this. A decade ago Britain had the fourth lowest business tax rate in Europe. Today we have the nineteenth lowest. This is a millstone round the neck of British firms.”
“The economy today looks much more precarious than it did a year ago when Brown suggested these tax increases. In places like Worcester, businesses are feeling the pinch and it is absolutely the wrong time for the government to be taking money away from them.”
“We must stop the damaging 2p rise in the small companies tax rate that Gordon Brown planned, by scrapping the intrusive new allowances. Small businesses are the lifeblood of a vibrant economy and a tax hike now would be a disaster.”
“Due to Brown and Darling’s mismanagement of the economy no government can afford to make big cuts without threatening services, but the revenue neutral package which the Shadow Chancellor has put forward today would take the pressure off businesses by reducing complexity in the system as well at the same time as it lowers their headline rates. Most importantly it would spare small businesses the unfair extra tax that the government is trying to impose.”
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