Little benefit expected from pre-Budget
The forthcoming pre-Budget report is likely to be a damp squib for enterprise, a corporate tax specialist has warned.
Link: Treasury dismisses December pre-Budget
The chancellor’s claims that his pre-Budget report will be good for enterprise and the financial community have been criticised by Grant Thornton. Stephen Quest, tax partner and corporate tax specialist warned that there has been scant evidence to date that previous initiatives have delivered business benefits.
Grant Thornton said that the current budget deficit and a reluctance to reduce public spending means mounting pressure on Gordon Brown raise taxes on business.
Quest said: ‘Since New Labour came into power in 1997, UK business has had to cope with the introduction of more and more layers of tax and corresponding tax reliefs. The added cost and complexity of this legislation is hampering growing businesses as they are struggling to keep up with the burden of red tape.
‘What’s more, there is often little incentive to apply for available tax reliefs as the cost of unravelling the red tape can be greater than any potential savings.’