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Finance Bill

Thank you, Sir Alan. A further problem is that the current small companies rate benefits large companies, because it is levied on the size of profits, not on the size of the company. The change will help to focus the tax system more effectively. To return to the point raised by the hon. Member for Braintree (Mr. Newmark), after the Budget speech Andrew Tenon, a tax director at Tenon, commented:"““There is no doubt that many people have incorporated to save tax””." The Institute of Chartered Accountants said—again, after the Budget—that,"““the Government is concerned that the small companies rate continues to be subject to manipulation…This is probably a reasonable analysis””." The scaremongering from Conservative Members is not justified. I suggest that they turn to chart 3.1 in the Red Book, which compares international corporate tax rates. They will see that current UK rates are below the G7 average, and that the new UK rate will be below that of the EU15. The Government continue, through a range of policies, to encourage business growth by encouraging investment and innovation.