Government sees CGT revenues "bonanza"

News Article - 14 November 2007
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The amount of money received by the government through the existing capital gains tax (CGT) regime is likely to reach £4.6 billion in 2007-08, it has been claimed.

Accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy stated that this figure meant the amount received by the government has doubled since 2004-05, Accountancy Age reports.

However, the government recently announced plans to introduce a flat CGT rate of 18 per cent , meaning receipts will increase further over the next few years, the firm noted.

Roger Williams, partner at Wilkins Kennedy, said that the government is currently "enjoying a CGT bonanza".

In light of this, the changes to the CGT system announced in the pre-Budget report "seem doubly greedy", given that they will "hit small investors and lower rate taxpayers hardest", he commented.

Earlier in the month, the Confederation of British Industry outlined a number of alternatives to changing the CGT system, calling for the government to separate the way business and non-business assets are taxed.

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