Business Taxation

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 13 May 1999.

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Photo of Alan Milburn Alan Milburn Chief Secretary, HM Treasury 12:00, 13 May 1999

I am happy to compare our record on business taxes with that of the Conservative Government. I remind the hon. Gentleman that, in their first four years in power, the Conservative Government maintained a corporation tax rate of 52p in the pound. In our first two years in power, we have cut the main corporation tax rate to 30p in the pound and the small companies rate to 20p in the pound and have introduced a new 10p starting rate of corporation tax. Those are the lowest company taxes in the history of this country, the lowest company taxes of any country in Europe, and the lowest company taxes of any major industrialised country in the world. The hon. Gentleman should be congratulating the Government.