Tories oppose tax change

Conservatives will vote against changes to capital gains tax which are expected to cost small business as much as £700m, shadow chancellor George Osborne has confirmed.

And Osborne signalled on Sunday that the Tories would "plot a path away from taxes on enterprise" if they won power.

As chancellor, he would consider whether the country can afford tax cuts every time he writes a Budget, he said.

Tories have led opposition to the simplification of CGT announced in chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report in October.

The move would abolish the taper relief which allowed companies to pay the tax at a rate as low as 10 per cent, and instead impose a flat rate of 18 per cent for gains over £1m when businesses are sold.

Leader David Cameron has already promised to "fight this tax hike on Britain's entrepreneurs every step of the way, both inside and outside Parliament".

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Osborne confirmed that the party will vote against the changes, due to come into force in April.

"I'm a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. If I am chancellor I will approach each Budget seeing whether the country can afford lower taxes," he said.

"There is no other country in the world who thinks the answer is to increase taxes on enterprise. We are going to plot a path away from that."