Climate Change Levy must go says FSB
One week before the pre-Budget report, he Federation of Small Businesses has called on chancellor Gordon Brown to cut the Climate Change Levy and simplify payroll legislation.
In a statement, FSB tax spokesman Neil Hamper said it submitted its views on issues including payroll burdens, VAT, the CCL, and personal tax allowances to the Patrick Carter Review – the government paper on small business.
According to Hamper, the levy ‘disproportionately impinges on small energy intensive businesses,’ and was of particular concern for small manufacturing businesses during this ‘difficult time’.
He added: ‘The FSB does not accept that the levy makes a significant difference to any climate change and sees its introduction by the government as being another way of justifying a tax hike.’
The FSB also said certain payroll legislation was ‘unwarranted, unnecessary, and unwanted’, naming working families tax credit , student loan repayments, and stakeholder pensions as payroll burdens.
He said: ‘We hope that the Review’s recommendations will be strong and purposeful and lead to a real reduction in the payroll burden facing small firms.’
The FSB is also calling for an ‘imaginative’ approach to VAT burden which would include a new flat rate scheme, an increase in personal tax allowances, and enhancement of tax credits for research and development.
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