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CBI chief’s warning over industry prohibitive tax
THE Director-General of the CBI
said the Government must not
put prohibitive taxes on industry
if sites such as Wilton on
Teesside are to continue flourishing.
Speaking to The Northern
Echo, during a two-day visit to
the Tees Valley, Richard Lambert
was impressed with how the region
was performing.
But he warned "good things"
that had happened with foreign
investment could be placed in
jeopardy because of taxes on
business.
Mr Lambert said: "I have been
coming here for more than 30
years and the structure of the
economy has changed. Now it is
much more diverse.
"I think that what I have seen
in the process industries in this
area is remarkable and not something
I expected to see in my lifetime,
with the new companies
that have come in and the new
infrastructure.
"I was up in Wilton in December,
it is a great story, a fantastic
story. I was more or less expecting
grass growing in the streets,
but it is buzzing and there is
clearly a lot of investment.
"It is a major bonus for the
North-East to have it there and to
have the skills and trades.
"The University of Teesside is
the best for mechanical engineering
and when I went round
Wilton there were old ICI guys, so
there is a legacy of skills and
trades, which is wonderful.
"I can remember in the
Nineties, people saying process
industries are finished in the UK,
you might as well give up, but it
is buzzing."
But against the backdrop of
continuing economic uncertainty,
Mr Lambert urged the Government
not to load any further
tax or regulatory burdens on
business.
He believed it was important
that the UK offered an attractive
financial and regulatory environment
for international investors.
In March, a CBI tax task force,
set up to undertake a comprehensive
review of the UK's corporation
tax system and to propose
reforms called for a lower
rate of tax.
Mr Lambert said: "A lot of companies
that come here are foreign
investment. Business taxes are a
consideration on whether to put
them here.
"We are lobbying the Government,
saying look at whether we
are getting this wrong, realise
this is a competitive part of the
world and investment won't
come here if it costs more."
He believed a big issue for business
was the shift to the low carbon
economy and that when carbon
pricing came in, it was done
in a way that did not make it
more attractive for companies to
relocate to China, for example.
Mr Lambert said: "It will be really
important that it is done in a
way that doesn't disadvantage industry
against international
competition. They are coming
here because there are some
great locations and talented people,
but there are those in other
parts of the world, so if tax is
wrong then all the good things
that have happened could be
placed in jeopardy."
During his stay, Mr Lambert
visited a range of companies
across the region, including
Huntsman Tioxide and Sabic. He
addressed business leaders at the
CBI Tees Valley annual dinner at
Redworth Hall, near Newton Aycliffe.
He was also guest speaker
at the University of Teesside's
Teesside Business School lecture,
where he spoke to an invited
audience from the region's
business community on the subject
of globalisation and competition.
12:42pm Friday 9th May 2008
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