Amendment of the Law

Thérèse Coffey Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

This has been a fascinating debate and some excellent contributions have been made by Members from both sides. I refer, in particular, to the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling), the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who made a typically thoughtful contribution, and to my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster), who, along with a number of other Members, including the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden), warmly welcomed the package of measures for the creative industries in this Budget. Indeed, a number of other Labour Members welcomed that point, too. The hon. Member for Blyth Valley (Mr Campbell) referred to, among other things, broadband funding in his constituency, which he welcomes. My hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Mary Macleod) rightly made the point that we should be highlighting the positive news for business in this country, and she highlighted some of the positive news in her constituency.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend confirm what corporation tax rate companies will be paying in this country? Will it be the lowest in the G20?

[Danny Alexander]

I can certainly confirm that, as a result of the measures in this Budget and the measures that we announced in earlier Budgets, we will have not only the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7, but one of the lowest rates of tax in the G20. That will make a fundamental difference to this country’s attractiveness to investment from overseas.