Where we stand: Business

Our goal is simple: to make Britain the easiest and best place in the world to set up and grow a business.

Under Labour, business has become increasingly burdened by corporate taxes, red tape and the lack of enterprise leadership in government. As a result, we are falling down the global scale of economic competitiveness.

A Conservative Government would help businesses struggling in this recession by:

• Establishing a temporary National Loans Guarantee Scheme to get credit flowing again and help protect jobs 
• Allowing struggling firms to defer their VAT bills for up to six months
• Cutting small firms' payroll taxes
• Helping companies with the costs of hiring new staff by giving tax breaks for new jobs 

And we would ensure Britain is one of the most competitive economies in which to do business in the future by:

• Cutting the main rate of corporation tax
• Cancelling Labour's planned increase in the small companies tax rate, and cutting the rate instead
• Reducing the burden of regulation to give businesses more freedom and greater flexibility
• Simplifying employment law to make it easier to hire people
• Improving skills training and apprenticeships
• Reforming the Regional Development Agencies to create a vibrant, business-focused force
• Strengthening UK Trade and Investment to give British business a powerful voice abroad
• Increasing government procurement from small firms

We recognise the huge contribution business makes to society – and that’s why we want the modern Conservative Party to be not just the party of business but the party of responsible business.

By ensuring government and business work together, rather than micro-managing from the top down, we will achieve far more for British The first area covered today is "Business".