Ed Miliband To Accuse Coalition Of 'Rigging' The Tax System

Ed Miliband To Accuse Coalition Of 'Rigging' The Tax System
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Ed Miliband is to accuse the coalition of "rigging" the tax system against manufacturing firms and long-term investment.

The Labour leader will respond to David Cameron's claim that the economy is being rebalanced by highlighting the impact of cutting Capital Allowances to fund Corporation Tax reductions.

Analysis commissioned from the Commons Library suggests that the changes, planned for next year, will benefit companies making profits but not reinvesting.

Banks are set to be among the biggest winners, while manufacturing and high-end engineering companies will be hardest hit. The self-employed will also lose out because they do not pay corporation tax, but often use investment allowances, Mr Miliband will argue.

According to the research, up to 200,000 businesses will face higher tax bills. Some firms could pay £30,000 more or face a tax increase of at least 50%.

Speaking on a visit to Manthorpe Engineering in Derby, Mr Miliband will call for an end to the "fast buck, something for nothing culture".

"We need to build a new economy not on shifting sand but on the firm foundations of businesses that invest, invent, train, as well as make and sell real products and services," he is to say.

"These businesses can help reverse the decline in apprenticeships and high quality training which can provide the gateway to decent jobs and a good standard of living for millions of families."

He will add: "A new generation of decent jobs in high-value manufacturing should be the future for many of the sons and daughters of the squeezed middle. Instead, the Government is intent on making matters worse by effectively rigging the system against long-term investment and manufacturing firms.

"This is a government showing it is wedded to an old set of orthodoxies which do not serve the interests of most people or businesses."