Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn

Sunak’s leaked tax plan sends precisely the wrong message

It is too expensive. It mostly goes to Southerners who already have plenty of money. And it doesn’t even work very well, while the money would be better spent elsewhere.

As the Chancellor puts the finishing touches to his Budget, the leaks suggest that the most generous tax relief for entrepreneurs will either be curbed, reduced or potentially even scrapped completely.

But hold on. That’s crazy. It’s just about possible that there might be a worse message to send out about post-Brexit Britain – nationalising the banks, perhaps, or a three-day working week – but it is hard to think of one. In fact, entrepreneur’s relief has been a huge success. Instead of scrapping it, we should think about extending it.

In the last 20 years, the UK has put together one of the most attractive packages for encouraging start-up companies in the developed world.

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