Brown to give pledge on capital gains tax
British Chancellor Gordon Brown was today seeking to reassure business leaders that Labour had not given up it pro-enterprise agenda, with a pledge of further cuts to capital gains tax (CGT).
In a speech to the Institute of Directors this evening he will promise to make good a commitment at the General Election in June to build on the CGT reforms in the last Parliament.
The Chancellor is now proposing to use his next Budget in April to cut the long term rate of CGT for business assets from 40% to 20% after one year, and to 10% after two years.
Treasury officials said that, coming on top of the changes in the last Parliament worth £500m to business, the new cuts would give Britain a more favourable CGT regime than the United States.
The move comes as a clear attempt to allay criticisms by business leaders about the levels of taxation and regulation they face under Labour and fears that they will be hit again to pay for the war on terrorism.
