The CBI has called on George Osborne to produce a “bold and ambitious” Budget on June 22, without imposing damaging tax increases and cuts to long-term capital spending plans.
According to the CBI, it had “major concerns” about the Government’s proposed reforms to capital gains tax (CGT). It said it wants to see a broad definition of business assets which the Coalition has said will be excluded from a potential rise to prevent disincentives to investment or start-ups. The CBI also indicated that any change should be structured to minimize the impact on long-term investments.
It called on the Coalition to provide an indication in the Budget that it is working on plans to re-introduce new fiscal rules for
“normal times”.
On Tuesday, the ratings agency–Standard and Poor’s, said that it would wait to see the contents of the emergency Budget before deciding whether the Coalition had produced a credible plan for reducing the deficit over the medium term. Only then would it decide on any action on its negative outlook on the UK’s AAA credit rating.