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We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to not hesitate for an instant before kicking into touch any legislative proposals that would allow councils to levy a supplementary local business tax of up to 10%. More details
Submitted by Andrew Constantine of English Democrats – Deadline to sign up by: 07 August 2008 – Signatures: 10
More details from petition creator
The committee in the Westminster Union Parliament called "The Communities and Local Government Committee" has just recommended that local authorities (i.e. councils) be allowed to charge businesses in their areas a supplementary business rate.
The petition asks that such a proposal be strongly resisted. Business in England already faces some 25 potential taxes, all with differing compliance regimes and in total imposing a heavy economic burden on our real wealth generating activities.
The tax revenue raised by this ill-thought through proposal might amount to some £1.5 billion per year and would represent a direct transfer of resources from business and real jobs to councils for them spend on even higher pay and index linked pension entitlements for their Equality, Diversity and Health & Safety officers.
England - when left to its own devices - is a unified, fair and well-run nation state. The last thing we wish to see is more English tax revenues being raised, and sent to subsidise the other home nations.
