Small firms urge tax rethink

The Federation of Small Businesses, (FSB) which counts opticians among its membership, has joined forces with other industry bodies to launch a campaign to reverse the tax changes, including the controversial jump in capital gains tax (CGT), announced in last week's Pre-Budget statement.

As reported in Optician, (News, October 12), the Chancellor's report dealt a hammer blow to family owned businesses after he announced a massive jump in CGT from 10 per to 18 per cent. He also announced measures to impose a ban on so called 'income-shifting arrangements' in use by many family owned practices.

In his statement, Alistair Darling said that 'draft' legislation would be announced shortly which would allow tax officials to require business owners to ensure that shareholders and partners are receiving share of the profits that are in line with their contribution.