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/business/7114151.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Cameron attacks tax increase plan | Cameron attacks tax increase plan |
(about 3 hours later) | |
David Cameron has vowed to fight plans to raise capital gains tax (CGT) and called for a simpler tax regime. | David Cameron has vowed to fight plans to raise capital gains tax (CGT) and called for a simpler tax regime. |
Speaking at the CBI conference, the Conservative party leader said he would fight plans to for a single CGT rate of 18% "every step of the way". | |
Mr Cameron said the chancellor Alistair Darling should abandon plans that were confusing and would hit entrepreneurs. | |
Mr Darling said he was talking to firms on this issue and his final proposals would be made within three weeks. | |
The chancellor also said: "I know that my proposals to introduce a single rate of capital gains tax have been controversial. That was inevitable." | |
'Sticking plaster' | 'Sticking plaster' |
The simplification of the CGT system was meant to allow the Treasury to raise more money from the businesspeople who run private equity firms. | |
If the chancellor fails to abandon or radically alter his approach, we will fight this tax hike on Britain's entrepreneurs every step of the way David Cameron class="" href="/1/hi/business/7114700.stm">Capital gains tax explained | |
It was claimed that they were using a mechanism called taper relief - which was put in place to encourage entrepreneurship and reward people who start their own businesses - to lower their tax bill and unfairly boosting earnings. | |
The taper gradually relief reduces the tax rate over a period of time, in an attempt to encourage more long-term investment. | |
Business groups like the CBI, among others, have attacked the plan to abolish the taper relief, saying that the proposed flat tax rate would act as a brake on business and discourage new firms from starting in the UK. | |
Mr Cameron said that the chancellor "must tell us what the capital gains tax system will look like in five months time". | |
HAVE YOUR SAY This is clearly a move aimed at pacifying the richer classes of society at the cost of the less well-off Ambriel Send us your comments | HAVE YOUR SAY This is clearly a move aimed at pacifying the richer classes of society at the cost of the less well-off Ambriel Send us your comments |
During the first day of the event on Monday, Gordon Brown said he would "listen and discuss" the thorny issue of CGT reform. | |
"If the chancellor attempts further changes, in order to recover the situation, they must not be sticking plaster changes to proposals that have so angered entrepreneurs," said Mr Cameron. | "If the chancellor attempts further changes, in order to recover the situation, they must not be sticking plaster changes to proposals that have so angered entrepreneurs," said Mr Cameron. |
"If the chancellor fails to abandon or radically alter his approach, we will fight this tax hike on Britain's entrepreneurs every step of the way, inside and outside parliament," he added. | |
While Mr Darling gave no further clarification on CGT he said that: "Maintaining Britain as a good place to do business means ensuring we have a tax regime that is competitive, fair and simple." | |
He reiterated plans announced in the Budget that corporation tax would be cut and so would the basic rate of income tax, "helping not just the self-employed but small businesses too". |