EEF Warns UK Chancellor Against New Tax Hikes

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

25 February 2003

In its pre-budget submission, released today, the Engineering Employers Federation, which represents some 6,000 manufacturers in the UK, urged Chancellor Gordon Brown not to increase the tax burden on British business still further.

The EEF warned that growth in the recession-hit manufacturing sector is likely to come in at just 0.9% this year, compared with a Treasury prediction of between 1.75% and 2.25%. The organisation also revealed that industry investment dropped by 15% in the first three quarters of last year, and called for tax incentives such as higher capital allowances and investment tax credits to boost the ailing sector.

'While Britain's manufacturers are pulling out all the stops to be ready for economic upturn, increasing costs of tax and regulation and growing uncertainty are constraining vital investment decisions,' EEF director-general, Martin Temple observed this week, concluding:

'The Chancellor must not add to manufacturers' costs. He must also introduce measures to build confidence and support investment decisions vital to our future growth.'

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