argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): When I became Chancellor, there was a question mark over Britain’s ability to pay its way in the world, and that was reflected in our bond yields, but because of our determined effort over the last six years, when we have hit an economic shock, as we have done in the last two weeks, the response has been a fall in bond yields—because people have confidence in the UK First on planning, extensive contingency plans were in place to deal with financial market disorder as a result of a leave vote, and the fact that we are not debating that today shows that those plans have been effective—we remain vigilant, but those plans were in place. Secondly, we must now decide on the new model of our relationship with the EU. That was not on the ballot paper and has to be a decision for Parliament. We set out the options for the country in advance of the referendum debate, and now we must have that discussion Thirdly on planning, the fiscal charter specifically provides for the impact of a negative shock, which is what we have had, and as a result the rules of the charter apply. As I say, it is unlikely that the surplus will be achieved in 2019-20—although that will be for the OBR formally to assess—and it will then be up to the Chancellor to produce new plans to restore the public finances to surplus and for Parliament to vote on them. We thought about that in advance: it is in the charter that the House voted on. The hon. Gentleman talked about investment. On Friday, I met the Labour leader of Manchester City Council, Richard Leese. We talked about how we could redouble our efforts to invest in transport across the Pennines and about devolved powers for mayors and the like. That will be part of our response to the disfranchisement that too many of our citizens in the midlands and the north of England have clearly felt Finally, the hon. Gentleman also asked about business confidence and the corporation tax cuts. Not only have our corporation tax cuts given us the lowest corporation tax rate of all the advanced economies of the world, but we have seen a 20% increase in receipts from corporation tax—because businesses are coming to this country, growing their businesses in this country and employing 2 million people. The best response we can send to the world to show that we are open for business is to go on reducing business tax.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew Tyrie (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chancellor has done the right thing to buttress the decisions of the Bank on monetary policy with fiscal measures, particularly by allowing the automatic stabilisers to kick in. The 2020 fiscal surplus target was always likely to be a casualty at the first sound of Brexit gunfire, and so it has proved—hence the need to take advantage of the charter’s flexibility. Does he agree that, in order most effectively to bolster credibility in the coming years, over the next few months we need to develop a rule that sets fiscal policy in a longer-term framework and which is resilient to changes in the OBR’s short-term forecasts?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): It is clearly likely that we will be impacted by a cyclical downturn in the public finances—we can already see the growth forecasts being adjusted. The OBR will help us to make an assessment of the referendum result’s structural impact on the public finances and our chances of hitting the target—as I say, it looks unlikely that we will hit it—and then, under the fiscal charter, it will be up to the Government to produce a plan that will be debated and voted on by the House. We have provided for this contingency, and now we need to let the OBR do its work.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): First, as a result of the reforms we have made over the last six years, the Bank of England has many more tools at its disposal than it did in the financial crash. Obviously, it can act on monetary policy consistent with its inflation target. The Governor of the Bank of England, speaking in a personal capacity as a member of Monetary Policy Committee, said that easing was likely to be required. A number of other tools, including counter-cyclical financial tools, are available, which means that there is a range of options to deploy. Over the coming weeks, we will hear whether, how and why the Bank of England, which is independent in its decision making, needs to deploy those tools I am rather disappointed that the SNP spokesman has not reminded us that it was SNP policy to cut corporation tax. Indeed, that has been its policy for year after year. In the independence referendum, the SNP said that one of the benefits of independence was the ability to cut corporation tax. The great thing about being in the United Kingdom is that the SNP can get corporation tax cuts in any case.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): We have to be realistic about the economic shock that the referendum result has created, which is acknowledged not just by the Bank Governor but by many independent forecasters—it is reflected in the financial markets. It will have an impact on the public finances, which will partly be cyclical, but also partly structural. In the end, a structural deficit—my hon. Friend, who is a good fiscal conservative, will know this—needs to be addressed through either reduced spending or higher taxes over time. Obviously, as a Conservative, I tend to look at the spending solution rather than the tax one, but that is what happens when there is a structural deficit, as we know to our cost in this country. Let us wait for the OBR to make its assessment in the autumn, then we can collectively decide how to proceed.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): I am all for supporting small businesses, which is why we have a package of rates relief in the Budget. I am all for making the big transport investments, which this country has, frankly, not done for a generation. That is why I support High Speed 2 and indeed High Speed 3, as well as a new runway in the south-east of England. The OBR has revised up its economic forecast for business investment when we have introduced corporation tax cuts, so it draws a link between the two. A study on the long-term impact of our corporation tax cuts so far suggests that they have seen an increase in our long-run GDP of 1.3%, which is the equivalent of £24 billion in today’s prices.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): Before the referendum, the Finance Bill set out the path to lower corporation tax, so I am pleased, following the result, that the Chancellor has set out further steps to reduce it and to invest much more in the northern powerhouse. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what conversations he has had with business leaders about his proactive approach, following the referendum result?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): When it comes to annoying our European partners, I do not think this is going to be the thing that tips the balance after the last couple of weeks. Ireland is a member of the EU and has a 12.5% corporation tax rate. When it comes to investment in the north and the midlands, I am very much open to what further steps we can take. I do not pretend that we have done everything possible; I think there is more we are going to have to do, and all of us collectively—particularly those who represent constituencies in the north and the midlands—need to focus on what we can do to make sure that people feel more enfranchised and connected with this country’s economic success.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): The Brexit vote was always going to require a Treasury response so I am pleased the Chancellor has produced one, but, rather than concentrate on the profit and loss, I wonder if he would care to look more at the balance sheet and consider measures to lift or relieve some of the constraints on the operational liquidity of capital in the economy. Our capital base is fundamental to our growth, and taxes and regulations on the operation of capital are significant constraints. So will the Chancellor look at investment allowances, tax breaks on starting new businesses and capital gains tax, in the hope that we can maintain a nice liquid market for capital investment in the UK?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to say that, while taxes on business profits are important, capital taxes are also vital to stimulating investment. That is why in the Budget we reduced capital gains tax—and, with hindsight, that is an even more sensible move than I thought it was at the time. I am always ready to consider further investment allowances, and we have very successful allowances such as the enterprise investment scheme. Of course, the balance has always got to be between simplification and simplicity of the tax system and new allowances, and sometimes people call on me in the same breath to do both things—not my hon. Friend, because he is very clear in his thinking. We have got those allowances, but reducing headline rates is generally the better approach.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): What I was setting out with Alistair Darling, my immediate predecessor, was the realism that will be required when we understand that the economy, impacted by the vote, will have an impact on the public finances, and then it will be up to the House of Commons to decide how we proceed. It was important that that information was in the public domain before people voted.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): First, may I put on record my thanks to the Chancellor for the work he has done over the last week in stabilising the economy following the Brexit vote? Gooch & Housego in my constituency is a company that depends on exports. What message does the Chancellor have for such exporting businesses about Britain’s future role in the world, particularly in terms of trade?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): We need to do two things. First, we need to determine our new trading relationship with our European partners; about half of our exports go to the European continent and, in my view, we should be pushing for the best possible terms of trade in goods and business services, including financial services. Secondly, we should be maximising our links with the rest of the world. We have a real opportunity with China. As my hon. Friend will know, I have been very involved in trying to strengthen the relationship with that big emerging economy in our world, but we should also look to our links with Japan, India, the United States and the Commonwealth, and this is a call to action that we need to redouble our efforts.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): We gained office because we were faced with the complete economic mess created under the last Labour Government. We promised to turn that around, and we got a record number of people into work and have had the fastest growing economy for the past three years. When it comes to the deficit, the right hon. Gentleman was a Treasury Minister and he left me with an 11% budget deficit—the highest in the peacetime history of this country—but this year it is forecast to be below 3%, so I will compare our record with Labour’s record.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
Antoinette Geraldine Sherratt (Sandbach) (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chancellor will be aware that I have many small and medium-sized businesses in my constituency that export to Europe. Will he explain what steps he is taking to ensure that UKTI has a package that will allow such businesses to look more globally for their exports?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): I know my hon. Friend’s constituency well, as it neighbours my own. We represent similar communities in Parliament. We as a country do not have to make a choice between exporting to Europe and exporting to the world; we should be doing both. Of course we should be doing everything we can to maintain close trading links with our European partners, and indeed building on them if that is possible, but we should also be looking for opportunities around the rest of the world. The trip that I am making to China will provide an opportunity to communicate that message, and I have also spoken to the Speaker of Congress and others in the United States Administration about what we can do to strengthen our links with that huge market. In the end, however, the best thing that UKTI can do is to help not only our largest companies but the small businesses that my hon. Friend has referred to. In countries such as Germany, many more small and medium-sized companies are exporting than is the case in the UK, but it is within our own gift to address that and we need to give those companies all the help that we can.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think that the business community wants higher business taxes, which is the Labour proposal. When it comes to major transport investments, we are making them. Labour was in office during all those years when money was apparently coming in, but where were the major investments in the railways and the roads? Labour Members complain about our energy investments, but where are the power stations that were opened under the Labour Government? The more we look at that period of our economic history, the more we can see what a massive missed opportunity it was.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): The British Business Bank—which was created under a policy announced by me at this Dispatch Box—is working successfully, and I pay tribute to Liberal Democrat colleagues in the coalition Government for helping us to deliver it. Of course it has an important role to play in the future. The right hon. Gentleman is right, in the broader sense, to say that we need to look at what we can do to support demand and credit in the economy. The Bank of England has many tools, and the Governor of the Bank has already indicated that, in his personal opinion, we should be looking at monetary easing.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): The fiscal charter was explicitly designed to ensure that the House of Commons could hold Ministers to account for their fiscal policy, and, indeed, maintain controls on welfare policy. However, it also provided for a specific requirement, in the event of a negative shock, for them to come back to the House of Commons with a new proposal. That, it seems to me, is thinking ahead, and it has been required because of the challenges that we now face in the economy.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
Craig Whittaker (Conservative, Centre-right): Nearly 20% of people in the Calder Valley work in manufacturing, much of which involves high-end niche manufacturers who export. Does my right hon. Friend agree that those businesses need us to negotiate trade agreements not just with the European Union but with the rest of the world, and that it would be wise for us to draw breath before rushing into triggering article 50 for our exit from the EU?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: International Affairs
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister’s position—which I share, and which I think is sensible for the country—is that we should trigger article 50 when we are clear, collectively, about the new model of the relationship that we want with our European allies, so that we are well prepared for the negotiations on which we would then embark.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Lady knows, we still have to work out the fiscal underpinning of these arrangements, but they allow the Northern Ireland Executive to set any rate that they want. The good news about the reduction in the UK rate is that it applies to businesses throughout Northern Ireland as well, and, to put it, bluntly, makes it cheaper for the Northern Ireland Executive to reduce their corporation tax rate.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the commitment to lower the corporation tax rate, but may I echo the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) about the need to look at our corporation tax regime in the round? I recently visited Lavenham Press, a printing company in my constituency, whose representatives pointed out that capital allowances had been cut. Given the importance of manufacturing, may I ask my right hon. Friend at least to keep the issue of capital allowances under review?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course we keep taxes under review. As I have said, my revealed preference is generally to try to reduce reliefs and reduce headline rates, which I think is the least economically distorting approach, but there are many exceptions to that. One of them has been the investment allowance, which we have increased, and which is particularly targeted at small and medium-sized businesses. It now stands at £200,000 as a permanent annual allowance, which is the highest that it has ever been.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): First of all, the problems in the financial markets eight years ago hit this country more severely than almost any other country in the world, and the Government at the time take some responsibility for that. Secondly, the challenge we face is one that was delivered by our democracy. It is a democratic outcome that we accept and respect and we have to make it work for our country. I am determined to make that happen As the hon. Lady well knows, productivity growth is a challenge in every western democracy at the moment. Indeed, the US is now predicted to have negative productivity growth. Productivity is still growing in the UK, but we need to do more to improve it. Education reform, welfare reform and transport investment are good places to start.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrew James Bridgen (Conservative, Centre-right): From the moment the result of the EU referendum was announced and the British people said that they wanted to leave the European Union, prominent commentators in most areas of the media have revelled in running down the British economy and its future prospects. With employment at a record high and unemployment at a 10-year low, does my right hon. Friend agree that the British economy is well placed to face the future?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): I completely agree with my hon. Friend. We are well placed because we have got behind Britain’s businesses, large and small. The essential decision that we—he and I and our colleagues—took collectively six years ago was to push for a private sector recovery, rather than to continually pump in Government money to try to sustain the economy. That approach has been vindicated by the record numbers of jobs and businesses created and our record growth compared with other advanced economies.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Foreign Trade
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): The contingency plans that we had in place were joint plans of the Treasury and the Bank of England and require the authorisation of a Chancellor in certain aspects. Based on the assessment we made before the referendum of the different models available to the UK, we now have to make a decision about how we want to proceed as a country. I am clear that we want the closest possible economic links, so that vital industries—not just manufacturing, but financial services, which is important to the Scottish economy—are able to trade as freely as possible with our European neighbours.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Transportation
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): I am always happy to consider any good proposals to make further investment in our transport infrastructure. We of course support the electrification of railway lines both into south Wales and through the valleys. The Cardiff city deal has just been signed for the wider Cardiff city region, but if the hon. Gentleman has further proposals, I am happy to look at them.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Michael Jon Wood (Conservative, Centre-right): When the Chancellor cut corporation tax in the Budget, he reduced the losses that banks could offset against corporation tax liabilities. Will he consider extending that to ensure that while we have the lowest possible rates, everyone pays their fair share of corporation tax?
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend rightly says that as well as reducing corporation tax rates, we did a lot to reduce some of the reliefs that have been used—and some that have been abused. Broadly speaking, that is the right direction of travel for our tax system.
Surplus Target and Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2016-07-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nigel John Mills (Conservative, Centre-right): That is not a prize I get often. I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to further reduce the rate of corporation tax—I called for it in the Budget debate last week, so I ought to welcome it. To get the most benefit out of that, we need to simplify our business tax system further to make it more attractive. Will he therefore agree to hold a review to try to make our system as simple as it can be?