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Osborne plans loan guarantee scheme

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3rd Oct 2011
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Chancellor George Osborne announced a credit-easing programme for small businesses and ruled out tax cuts in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference earlier today.

“We’d be gambling the priceless fiscal credibility that this government has earned with the international markets on the bet that borrowing a few billion pounds more would make all the difference,” he said, arguing temporary cuts would place risk on the current low interest rates. 
Instead, the chancellor called for loan guarantees to boost small businesses: “Everyone knows Britain’s small firms are struggling to get credit and banks are weak. So as part of my determination to get the economy moving I have set the Treasury to work on ways to inject money directly into parts of the economy that need it such as small businesses. It’s known as credit easing.”
However, no detail was provided for the “credit easing” scheme, other than comparing it to the National Loan Guarantee Scheme the party advocated while in opposition. 
Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: “I think the idea is one which has been a long time coming and should help SMEs quite considerably.”
BusinessZone reported a number of employment law changes in its conference report. Firstly, employees taking a case to tribunal will incur a fee. Secondly, an employee must now work two years, rather than one, before claiming unfair dismissal. “We respect the right of those who have spent their whole lives building a small business not to see that achievement destroyed by a vexatious appeal to an employment tribunal,” said Osborne. 
A permanent bank tax, a higher levy for long-stay non-domiciled taxpayers and the recent treaty with Switzerland to retrieve tax owed to the country all featured in the Chancellor's speech.

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