Will David Cameron perform a U-turn on capital gains tax?
David Cameron is this evening under major pressure to amend his plans to increase capital gains tax from 18% to anywhere up to 50%. It is unclear whether at this point in time the coalition government is taking notice of Conservative backbenchers who are up in arms about the position taken up by the government regarding capital gains tax.
There is no doubt that the Liberal Democrat party has taken the upper hand regarding capital gains tax and many Conservatives are concerned that David Cameron has "sold out". Whether or not this is the case is debatable but there is no doubt that David Cameron would not have increased capital gains tax from 18% to anywhere up to 50% if he had held a majority himself. As a consequence, this is the first real challenge to the coalition government and the challenge is coming from within the parties and from a growing number of MPs.
It is difficult to see how David Cameron can oblige those who are against the increase in capital gains tax while also retaining his authority within the coalition government. There is also the fact that various elements of future taxation and future regulation would have been agreed prior to the coalition arrangement and there is speculation that an increase in capital gains tax may have been one such element.
Share this..
Related stories
Chief financial officer leaves Northern Rock
David Jones, the chief financial officer of Northern Rock, has today left his post with immediate effect after being dragged into the Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation into alleged irregularities with the reporting of mortgage data. This comes days after the former deputy chief executive of the company was fined over £500,000 and banned from the UK financial industry in the future....
Read MoreIs it morally correct to subsidise overseas companies?
With Lord Mandelson set to deliver a £400 million subsidy to Magna, the probable acquirer of GM Europe, there are concerns as to whether state aid, at least to such a level, is both morally and politically correct.
The truth is that a £400 million subsidy, along with a guarantee of employment for thousands of UK workers in the short to medium term, is probably worth significantly...
Royal Bank of Scotland set to announce £1.3 billion bonus pot
Despite the fact that Royal Bank of Scotland is set to report another year of massive losses many in the city expect confirmation of a £1.3 billion bonus pot which will be predominantly targeted at the investment banking side of the business. Despite the fact that the traditional banking operation was bailed out to the tune of billions of pounds by the UK government, the investment banking divisi...
Read MoreUK government continues to milk motorists
UK motorists are again being hit in the pocket with news of a one pence increase in fuel duty brought in by the coalition government on 1 October. This move had already been pencilled in by the previous Labour government although unfortunately, for UK motorists, the coalition government has refused to backtrack on this particular price rise. With a further 0.76 pence charge per litre again pencill...
Read MoreTax credits under fire
Tax credits have come under fire yet again, with MPs claiming there are still problems with overpayments, resulting in "significant suffering".Previous reports into the credits have warned about poor administration causing overpayments and today's study by the public accounts committee (PAC) argues that attempts to remedy this have not been entirely successful.The tax credit system was established...
Read More