Business Rates

Richard Fuller Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Toby Perkins]

I am going to make a bit more progress. A large number of Members wish to speak, which makes it clear how important the issue is.

Our proposal is not to increase corporation tax from the current rate but simply not to take forward the planned 2015 cut, instead using all the money planned for that to reduce the business rate burden.

The Government have tabled an amendment to the motion, the final line of which states that the House

“rejects the policy proposals from Her Majesty’s Opposition on rates which would involve increasing corporation tax on all firms”.

That is what Government Members will be asked to vote for. First, under our proposals the rate would still be lower than it is today. More importantly, it would alter the corporation tax rate only of businesses that make more than £300,000 of profit. Government Members might well think that every single firm earns more than that, but I can tell them that 80,000 businesses would be affected out of a total of 5 million in the UK. That is just over 1.5% of all the businesses in the UK, not “all firms” as the Government’s amendment states. If they think that 1.5% of firms is “all firms”, they are either incompetent or totally out of touch. I suspect that it is both.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Toby Perkins]

For some reason, on the subject of incompetence, the hon. Gentleman wants to intervene.

[Richard Fuller]

I am extremely grateful for that nice introduction.

I draw the House’s attention to my registered interests. I am a director of a small technology business and of a manufacturing business. The Government are still dealing with the deficit that the hon. Gentleman’s party’s Government left, and money is therefore scarce. For every element of taxation that he wants to reduce, the money would have to be found from elsewhere. How would Labour’s proposal help technology and manufacturing businesses, which are surely what we need to secure growth in the economy, rather than retail?

[Toby Perkins]

It is interesting the hon. Gentleman says that, because the point is that our business rate proposal was announced at the same time as we said how it would be paid for. It is the principle of ensuring that we do not make commitments unless it is clear how we will pay for it—in this case, the corporation tax cut is not being taken forward, and that will pay for the business rates. The Chancellor has just announced that he will not increase business rates, but I would be interested to hear from Government Members whether he will make it clear how that will be paid for. We have had numerous policies so far from this Government that seem to be just sticking it on the deficit.