This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7721060.stm

The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Tories 'plan to cut business tax' Tories propose business tax cuts
(about 1 hour later)
David Cameron has unveiled plans to cut business tax as the main parties fight it out over how to help companies and individuals through a recession. David Cameron has unveiled plans to offer National Insurance breaks to firms which employ people who have been unemployed for more than three months.
The Tories are calling for a cut in the amount companies pay in national insurance if they take on staff who have been jobless for three months. The Tory leader said the incentive to take on workers would be funded from unemployment benefit savings.
They would use cash that would have been spent on unemployment benefit, and say the scheme would be self financing. Mr Cameron said his plan was "fiscally responsible" and questioned how the prime minister would fund tax cuts.
It would create 350,000 jobs and cut firms' tax burden by £2.6bn, they say. But Gordon Brown said the figures "simply do not add up" and "serious policy" was needed for "serious times".
David Cameron said that, in effect, companies would receive a proportion of the benefit payment in the form of a tax break. Mr Brown has hinted at possible tax cuts in the pre-Budget report. The Lib Dems have already pledged tax cuts.
'Fiscally responsible' 'Biggest worries'
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are basically saying that instead of paying for benefits, what we would like to do is take that money and give it to employers if they take people off the unemployment register." Mr Cameron said it was "a mistake" to believe the government could "borrow without limit" and said he believed the government had rowed back on publicised plans for a "Keynesian spending splurge".
He said it costs the taxpayer £8,000 when someone goes on benefit and the Conservative scheme would see about a third of that - £2,500 - used to fund the NI cut. The Conservatives say their plan would create 350,000 jobs and cut firms' tax burden by £2.6bn.
Mr Cameron said that, in effect, companies would receive a proportion of the benefit payment in the form of a tax break.
No Tory promise can be taken seriously while their economic strategy remains incoherent Stephen Timms, Treasury minister Send us your commentsNo Tory promise can be taken seriously while their economic strategy remains incoherent Stephen Timms, Treasury minister Send us your comments
"It is fiscally responsible because the money is only spent if someone comes off the unemployment register ... The saving is made in the current year and the spending is in the current year." He said it costs the taxpayer £8,000 when someone goes on unemployment benefit and their scheme would see about £2,500 of that used to fund a cut in the amount of NI paid by firms.
He said the scheme had been done in the US and Canada and said the government should implement it "now" as it was most effective "at the beginning of a recession". He told a press conference the plans were a "budget submission" - which he hoped the government would implement now, rather than a policy pledge for a future Conservative government, as it was best implemented "at the beginning of a recession".
Gordon Brown has hinted that might be possible tax cuts in the pre-Budget report, expected to take place next week. "One of the biggest worries for people right now is unemployment," he said.
The prime minister has said he is looking at all options to stimulate the economy, including tax cuts and increases in public spending, as the debate over responses to the downturn heats up. "Instead of the government paying for them to be unemployed it can be paying for them to be in work."
Quick response 'Fiscally responsible'
He has not provided any details of what the government plans but, shortly after the Tory announcement, he may come under pressure to do so when he holds his monthly Downing Street news conference from 0930 GMT. He said his pledged tax cuts were "fully funded" while the prime minister had "no idea" how his would be paid for.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, is also due to join the fray, giving more details of the tax breaks his party wants to give lower and middle earners, funded by closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy and pension allowances for higher rate taxpayers. He said his plan was "fiscally responsible because the money is only spent if someone comes off the unemployment register ... The saving is made in the current year and the spending is in the current year."
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programmeFROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme
The Tory leader has accused Labour of "complete confusion" over how to deal with the downturn, shifting from support for a "Keynesian" boost in public spending to backing for tax cuts. But in his monthy press conference, Gordon Brown dismissed the plan as a "one-off initiative" when what was needed was "a serious policy for serious times".
But Labour said the Tories' response to the crisis was "incoherent". And he added: "They can't show definitively how they can guarantee to pay for it."
"No Tory promise can be taken seriously while their economic strategy remains incoherent," said Treasury minister Stephen Timms. "They change their policy every day, they have a new initiative to get in the news."
"Their incoherence would be a risk to British jobs and economic stability." Mr Brown has hinted that might be possible tax cuts in the pre-Budget report, expected to take place next week.
International action In his annual Mansion House speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on Monday, he said it was necessary to maintain spending - and to increase borrowing to do so - to support the economy through its current troubles.
In his annual Mansion House speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on Monday, the prime minister said it was necessary to maintain spending - and to increase borrowing to do so - to support the economy through its current troubles. On Tuesday he said: "A fiscal stimulus means you are prepared to add to borrowing in conditions where you have low national debt."
But he also hinted at possible tax cuts, praising the economic stimulus measures put forward by the US and Germany and calling for "concerted, international" action to stimulate the economy. The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, is also due to give more details of the tax breaks his party wants to give lower and middle earners, funded by closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy and pension allowances for higher rate taxpayers.
The Lib Dems have consistently called on the government to cut taxes on low and middle incomes Nick CleggThe Lib Dems have consistently called on the government to cut taxes on low and middle incomes Nick Clegg
The Daily Telegraph reports that one of the key elements of the government's tax-cutting package will be a decision to postpone planned increases in vehicle excise duty - a move which its headline describes as a "U-turn" on a "poll tax on wheels".The Daily Telegraph reports that one of the key elements of the government's tax-cutting package will be a decision to postpone planned increases in vehicle excise duty - a move which its headline describes as a "U-turn" on a "poll tax on wheels".
The duty increase for higher emissions cars bought between 2001 and 2006 - announced earlier this year - has proved contentious, with the Conservatives describing it as retrospective and unfair.The duty increase for higher emissions cars bought between 2001 and 2006 - announced earlier this year - has proved contentious, with the Conservatives describing it as retrospective and unfair.
Labour has described the report as speculative and said all tax changes must wait until the chancellor's pre-Budget statement when Alistair Darling will update MPs on the state of the public finances.Labour has described the report as speculative and said all tax changes must wait until the chancellor's pre-Budget statement when Alistair Darling will update MPs on the state of the public finances.
The BBC's Nick Robinson said no talk of tax cuts should be taken at face value until the details were forthcoming and people would have to wait several days to learn of Labour's plans.
The Lib Dems have long called for tax cuts for low and middle income earners to be paid for scrapping tax loopholes for the wealthy.The Lib Dems have long called for tax cuts for low and middle income earners to be paid for scrapping tax loopholes for the wealthy.
The party's leader Nick Clegg said any proposed tax cuts had to be "big, permanent and fair".The party's leader Nick Clegg said any proposed tax cuts had to be "big, permanent and fair".
"The Lib Dems have consistently called on the government to cut taxes on low and middle incomes," he said."The Lib Dems have consistently called on the government to cut taxes on low and middle incomes," he said.
"It is high time ministers started to listen.""It is high time ministers started to listen."
The Tory proposals come as a poll for the Times suggested their lead over Labour has fallen sharply in recent weeks - from 15 points a month ago to six points now.The Tory proposals come as a poll for the Times suggested their lead over Labour has fallen sharply in recent weeks - from 15 points a month ago to six points now.