Commenting on the Budget, Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors (IoD) said:
“As a nation we have to face up to some very difficult choices. We either squeeze public spending or higher taxation squeezes the life out of the economy. Whilst today’s Budget does reduce the rate of growth of public spending the scale of the fiscal deterioration in the UK means that extraordinary measures are required. The IoD has called for a real terms freeze in spending which extends for more than one Parliament – once the recovery is underway.
Miles Templeman also said:
“The increase in the top rate of income tax to 50 per cent sends out all the wrong signals. The increase will affect very few IoD members but it will have a damaging impact on the wider economy and undermine the UK’s attractiveness as a place to invest. We are also worried about the ‘slippery slope’ whereby the 50 per cent rate becomes payable on successively lower incomes in the future. Likewise, the tightening up on personal allowances will send the wrong signals, as well as imposing very high tax rates at some income levels.”
