Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Love Excerpts
Tuesday 21st December 2010

(13 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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The reduction in corporation tax from 28% to 24% keeps the UK as an incredibly competitive place to do business and, over the next few years, will help to ensure that Britain gets its fair share of the growing global economic cake. The Office of Tax Simplification, which we have created, is specifically looking at the burden of tax on smaller businesses so that we can also bring benefits to them, although we have been able to avoid Labour’s increase in the small companies tax rate.

Andrew Love Portrait Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
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T6. The recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) shows clearly that both relative and absolute poverty will increase in every year up to 2014. Is not that the final nail in the coffin of the Government’s claim to be both progressive and fair in their policies?

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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The hon. Gentleman seems to forget that child poverty was rising under the last Labour Government and we have put forward policies to increase social mobility and tackle the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty.