First, the good news: I won’t mention the ‘B’ word this week (it will be unavoidable next week). Now the bad news: I’ve got a couple of things to say about tax.
It’s not a new idea, but Simplifying by Design, the Office of Tax Simplification's recent review of Capital Gains Tax (CGT), has put equalising CGT with income taxes back on the agenda. As reported in The Times, more than 2,200 entrepreneurs have joined a campaign to try to thwart this, with Lord (Howard) Leigh, founder of Cavendish Corporate Finance and an Officer of the APPG for Entrepreneurship, and Shalini Khemka, chief executive of E2E leading the charge. Henry Whorwood – Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network – is also leading a campaign at Beauhurst to lobby against the changes.
If this is on the cards, it would be announced (without warning) at the March Budget. Watch this space for updates on these campaigns.
Elsewhere, the final report of the Wealth Tax Commission has called for a one-off wealth tax. The benefits of this tax – if that’s the right way of talking about a new tax – is if it were a one-off tax. An annual wealth tax, for example, would be open to avoidance, make a mess of the tax system (like in Spain), and make the UK much less attractive to investment and entrepreneurs.
The inability to credibly make it a one-off tax should in itself make the idea a non-starter. In July of this year Chancellor Rishi said: “I do not believe that now is the time, or ever would be the time, for a wealth tax.” I would be surprised if this report will be enough to convince him otherwise.
Sneak preview
Many of us who work in think tanks tend to stay in our particular policy and political niches, but if we were forced – from the most leftwing to the most rightwing, and from the most socially focused to the most economically minded – to sit in a room and decide on a policy to change, it would likely be around planning policy.
While there are disagreements on the best remedy, pretty much everyone in wonk world thinks something needs to change. To this end, we’re scoping out a project looking at the cost of planning policy on entrepreneurship and we want you to be involved.
Is the cost of housing or commercial space too expensive for you to build your business where you want? If so, get in touch with us to let us know your experiences, as we will need some case studies for the report.
Before that, we will have a report out early next year on reforming copyright from Dr Anton Howes. I can’t go into too much detail, but if you’re an expert in intellectual property or journalist who wants to look at an embargoed copy do get in touch.
Creative thinking
The Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs is accepting submissions from 18-30-year-old creative entrepreneurs driving positive impact through their enterprise. The prize pot is £60,000 across five winners, and £100,000 worth of business support. Find out more on their website, and forward this onto any young creative entrepreneurs you think should apply.
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