Businesses to get tax cut 'goody bag'?

The chancellor could introduce a series of tax cuts for UK businesses when he unveils his first Budget later this year, it has been claimed.

After partially backing down over the unpopular capital gains tax (CGT) reform last week, Alistair Darling may go ahead with a number of new measures to ease the tax burden for British enterprise, the Daily Mail reports.

The newspaper states that a 'goody bag' of tax cuts was first hinted at in last October's pre-Budget report and had been discussed further with business leaders in the run-up to the CGT announcement.

Despite his decision to modify the CGT reform with the addition of the concessionary Entrepreneurs' Relief, the newspaper states that Mr Darling is likely to retain the additional tax benefits, which were originally designed to soften the blow of the increased CGT rate.

This could result in a slightly unbalanced Budget, with a source at the Treasury stating: "It may be that we end up spending more than planned."

Mr Darling will set out his Budget in April and is currently under pressure from the motoring industry to scrap a planned increase in fuel duty.

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