Treasury does not rule out accelerated corporation tax cuts

THE TREASURY HAS not denied reports that chancellor George Osborne will bring move faster in bringing forward cuts in corporation tax.

Businesses will benefit from a 1% annual cut in the tax, which will be brought down to 27% in April. The Financial Times has said that these cuts could be accelerated.

Bill Dodwell, tax partner at Deloitte, said that this would be unlikely, however. I"'d be surprised, because it costs a lot of money," he said. "A 1% cut costs about £800m a year. There is always a balance for the government between offering a general break or more targeted tax breaks, like enterprise zones or video games relief, which this government rejected.

The establishment of enterprise zones is likely, he added. These would be most effective if located around universities to maximise the research and talent available, he said.