Banks must 'play ball' on taxation

Date: 21st November 2008

Major financial institutions must resume lending to business start-ups or face nationalisation, according to one Labour backbencher.

Chairman of the Treasury select committee, John McFall, believes banks should be "actively lending" to firms rather than hoarding capital during the economic crisis.

He stated that if the banks were taken into public control, it would result in a turnaround of fortunes for business start-ups, as the government would be able to raise the levels of lending.

Mr McFall said: "Governments on both sides of the Atlantic have called on them to reduce lending and criticism has been directed to the banks that they are not shaping up to the task at hand.

"If the banks do not play ball and will not resume lending, then the demand for full-scale nationalisation will grow."

Another important issue for business start-ups at the moment is the impending self-assessment tax return deadline, which falls on January 31st next year.