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29 March 2024

Britain to slash corporation tax to under 15%

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne lays a wealth at the Cenotaph in St Peter's Square, Manchester, England, where a commemoration is being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the World War I battle of the Somme Friday July 1, 2016. Uncertainty about the country's future ties with the EU is weighing heavily on the British economy, prompting Treasury chief George Osborne to announce he was abandoning the government's long-held goal of achieving a budget surplus by 2020. (AP)

Published
By Agencies

British finance minister George Osborne plans to slash corporation tax to under 15 percent to tempt businesses to stay following the country's shock vote to leave the European Union, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

Osborne plans to create a what he called a super-competitive economy, cutting corporation tax by over five percentage points from 20 percent currently to the lowest for any major economy, it said.

"We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we've been dealt," Osborne told the newspaper.

The move, which would bring corporation tax close to Ireland's 12.5 percent rate, follows concern companies could flee the uncertainty hanging over Britain's future relationship with the EU.

The June 23 vote to leave the 28-member bloc sent the value of the British pound tumbling against the dollar and rocked financial markets.

Airline EasyJet, British Airways owner IAG, and estate agency Foxtons have issued profit warnings since then.