Forum Wealth criticises UK tax burden for businesses

Date: 3rd September 2009

The UK government should make changes to the tax regime in order to encourage businesses, an independent financial adviser has said.

Ian Wilson, director of Forum Wealth, indicated that it was currently "not so attractive" to work in the UK due to the taxation system and that preferable regimes existed abroad.

Currently, the tax burden for firms comes from several sources, including corporation tax and VAT.

Specific industries have lobbied for tax breaks in order to improve the business climate, with video games lobbyists at TIGA submitting evidence to the government at the end of last month in order to request a "cultural tax break".

The submission argued that, if the games firms could save tax, hundreds of millions of pounds of new investment could be generated.

This would come in exchange for a tax break which would cost the public purse around £54 million in the first year before falling to £36 million by year three.

A new survey has shown that business owners are becoming increasingly frustrated with the level of tax burden they are facing in the UK.

The survey by accountancy firm MacIntyre Hudson has shown that 89 per cent believe that the country will see business talent moving abroad.

Mr Wilson said: "People that live here are finding there are a number of different countries out there that are far more attractive."

He added: "Quite a lot are migrating. They will go away for a period of time with the economy how it is, earn good money overseas."