A Long And Winding Road

IN THEIR JUNE 2001 statement 'Enterprise and the productivity challenge' the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and Patricia Hewitt committed the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry to putting 'enterprise and productivity first in this Parliament' with lofty aims including ensuring 'the best environment for businesses to invest in and from the UK … [with] reforms to the UK's tax and regulatory systems to ensure that the right incentives are in place to encourage enterprise'.

Towards the end of the most recent Parliament the Chancellor once again stated that '… to create the best environment for business to thrive we also have to design our tax system to encourage and reward work savings investment and enterprise'. He committed to 'continue to look at the business tax regime so that we provide incentives for investment in wealth creation and rewards for...