Give us a (tax) break

AS PART OF his Budget speech Gordon Brown announced that 'since 1997 there are 575 000 new and additional businesses and 105 000 additional self-employed men and women'. For practitioners watching this live around the country there was a collective holding of breath as we all wondered what fantastic news was about to follow for these businesses. Nothing big was mentioned so we were left to review the Budget Notes to find out what was really in store for them; now read on…

Corporation tax rates

The Chancellor's 'U-turn' on the zero corporation tax rate on profits of less than £10 000 — announced in the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) in December 2005 — was confirmed. This was a surprise when it was announced following Brown's adamant statement in 2003:

'I would like to do even more to encourage new and growing businesses to invest and expand. I can only...