Sep 2008 15

New research: Cutting Corporation Tax will help the economy and boost Treasury revenue3

Download the full report (PDF).

The most wide-ranging, comprehensive and up-to-date report on the issue of Corporation Tax, written for Conservative Way Forward (CWF) by Matthew Elliott, Matthew Sinclair and Corin Taylor of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), reveals compelling evidence based on the experiences of Britain’s leading international competitors that a cut in the rate of Corporation Tax would boost the economy and speed up the rate of growth in revenues raised in Corporate Tax by the Treasury. With large corporations such as Shire Pharmaceuticals and Krom River leaving Britain due to high tax rates, and shortfalls in public finances growing swiftly, the research is a timely proposal for improving the nation’s economic standing.

By studying the economic records of 23 other high income developed countries, TPA researchers identified clear evidence showing that reducing Corporation Tax rates has such a positive effect on a country’s competitive standing that cutting Corporation Tax by 10% would result in the rate of growth in revenue raised by Corporation Tax increasing by 5%. The range and scope of the research proves that the success of low Corporation Tax is not isolated to the famous example of Ireland, but has also been enjoyed by France, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. This evidence adds compelling weight to the calls for Corporation Tax cuts to help Britain shore up its economy in the face of the credit crunch, whilst dispelling the concerns of politicians worried about a resulting shortfall in tax revenues.

The full report can be found here (PDF).

Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance and one of the authors of the report, said:

“A cut in Corporation Tax would encourage companies struggling under the burden of high taxes to stay in Britain, and attract new investment which would drive up the amount raised in tax over time. Many British politicians look enviously at Ireland’s incredible economic record over the last ten years but worry that we can’t afford to replicate the corporate tax cuts that produced their success.  Our research shows that such fears are unfounded, that corporate tax cuts deliver such a big boost to investment and economic growth that tax revenues rise.”

Related Posts

  • http://thepurplescorpion.blogspot.com John Page

    But they’d still have to contend with the great fiddler and complicator.
    Incidentally, the Conservative organisation has the word “conway” in its URL. That’s a bit unfortunate, you think, and then you realise that “con” must be short for “Conservative”. Not the greatest subliminal message.

  • Hardeep_Singh

    Such works of research and generally well thought through arguments are aplenty just like this one. However if the powers that be can’t or indeed refuse to listen then there’s little point in it’s existence. The only way for such research to gain a higher level status is through active sponsorshhip by a political party. On it’s own it has as much impact as the ‘views expressed by the head of so-and-so department at the University of I-know-evrything’. That’s all well and good for making it onto the regional news when they have little else to report but as a basis for national debate and awareness well that’s another matter. Mentions of certain media brands or leftist personalities would have given the report a pointy end and attracted much needed attention.
    Nevertheless I love this kind of bed time reading so I’m not complaining. However the Labour administration don’t view it as such because their real goal is of course idealogically inspired and they don’t wish to burdened with responsibilities of national prosperity, accountability, delivery or safeguarding the country whilst they are in charge of the baton. What’s important to them is the wealth theft from certain economic strata whether regionally, economically or apparently ‘class’ based.
    Besides restrained mention of such pieces of work are not the kind of thing you want people reading about. This is especially true in this day and age of Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers era. It makes Labour look like what they really are unable to govern other than through their delluded wizard of Oz style mentality.

  • Hardeep_Singh

    Further to the points I made in my previous post. It appears that dismissive and blinkered mindset of those that should actually take note of such research papers is already evident. With the plethora of bad news stories one after another being churned out of the grinder the BBC website had sometime ago discretely relegated the Business section further down the webpage and now that simple link has also been removed. No doubt it’s embedded within the news section so that people are impeded from getting at the bad news found in the business section. It only goes to show at a time of real turmoil the BBC aren’t the service of the people that they lecture us about but a simple left wing cheerleader whose primary aim is to defend their ‘dear leader’.. off with his head!