Tories Pledge To Place UK In ‘Vanguard Of Tax Reform’

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

05 October 2004

The Conservative Party has pledged this week to put tax reform at the centre of its economic agenda, identifying five aspects of the tax system which it regards as "manifestly unfair."

As the Tory Party conference got underway in Bournemouth on Monday, Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin declared that a future Conservative government would reform “unfair and complicated” tax rules and place the UK “once again at the vanguard of tax reform.”

Mr Letwin identified five key areas in which the party will focus its efforts: inheritance tax, stamp duty, local taxation, income tax and national insurance thresholds and the taxation of savings and pensions.

In addition, Mr Letwin is keen to simplify the rules governing the capital gains tax regime, small business taxation, and environmental taxation.

The Shadow Chancellor is also promising a wider review of the British tax system as a first step towards a "move decisively in the direction of a lower tax economy".

However, details of the Tory’s tax plans remain vague, and Mr Letwin has steadfastly refused to make specific promises until the present Chancellor, Gordon Brown, reveals the state of the nation’s finances in the 2005 government budget.

Recommended