By scrapping business taper relief the government has reversed all its good tax incentives and created a "climate of fear", says one leading entrepreneur.
In an open letter to the prime minister, supported by an online petition, Lewis PR founder and chief executive Chris Lewis has joined the growing discontent over the introduction of a flat-rate 18 per cent capital gains tax regime, announced in last week's pre-budget report.
"The proposed scrapping of business taper relief damages us in many ways. We can cope with re-jigging our plans. We aspired one day to join the stock market, but that will now have to wait. The most damaging thing of all is the new climate of fear. We’d grown up trusting a labour government, but if this can happen so quickly with no consultation, what’s next?"
This morning, the four leading business organisations – the CBI, IoD, Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Businesses – called on chancellor Alistair Darling to reverse his decision abolishing business taper relief.
To read a copy of Lewis's letter, click here.
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