Govt accused of taking a "clumsy" approach to CGT

News Article - 23 May 2012
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The Liberal Democrats accused the government of being "very clumsy" with its proposals for changing the capital gains tax (CGT) system.

Vince Cable, the party's acting leader, said that its approach had been "ham-fisted" and the response from business organisation had "obscured the basic point" of the changes.

According to Mr Cable, there is "no justification" for "complex" taper relief or treating capital gains differently to other forms of income.

"Business organisations who clamour for tax simplification should not oppose it when it happens, because there are - inevitably - some losers," he argued.

Earlier in the month, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and a number of other business organisations met with chancellor Alistair Darling to raise their concerns of the decision to abolish taper relief and implement a flat tax rate of 18 per cent.

Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, said that the government's pre-Budget report proposals represented a "step in the wrong direction" for the country's economy.

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