Jeremy Hunt is urged to save businesses from tax 'double-whammy' after ... trends now
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Jeremy Hunt is today urged to use this month’s Budget to save businesses from a tax ‘double-whammy’ as evidence emerges of the pressure firms are under.
Britain will become less attractive to investors and fall behind global rivals if plans to hike corporation tax and end a super-deduction tax break go ahead, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned.
After analysis this week suggested the Chancellor will have a £30billion windfall to play with, Mr Hunt is facing a chorus of calls to ditch the tax hike and extend the super-deduction. This policy gives big tax breaks to companies that invest in new infrastructure, factory and machinery assets.
Yesterday, Britain’s pharmaceutical sector piled on the pressure as it was claimed the industry was being overtaken by rival countries and ‘needs to get to a level playing field as quickly as possible’.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt speaks during a bilateral meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Meanwhile, CBI figures showed private sector business activity shrank in the three months to February for the seventh month in a row.
The CBI’s lead economist Alpesh Paleja said the cost of the living crunch was ‘continuing to bite on consumer-facing sectors’ and Mr Hunt must ‘take decisive action towards stimulating business investment and unlocking greater economic growth’. He added: ‘Businesses are facing a double-whammy of the super-deduction expiring and a higher rate of corporation tax.’
‘Left unaddressed, this will make the UK a less attractive destination for investment at a time when growth prospects are already very weak, leaving the UK to fall further behind its global competitors.’
The CBI wants to see the super-deduction replaced by a similar though less generous scheme, as well as measures to address
