Double dip recession and effects of tax crackdown top London business fears
THE fear of a double-dip economic recession and concerns that the government’s tax crackdown will force talented individuals overseas have topped a list of major worries experienced by business leaders in London, according to a new survey.
London’s top financiers and company executives are still fretting over a potential plunge back into recession, the research by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers shows, despite data last week showing the UK has officially exited recession.
The capital’s most powerful business figures aligned themselves with the general feeling across the country that future public sector expenditure cuts could send the UK spiralling back into the economic mire, as the next government attempts to reduce the burgeoning fiscal deficit.
“Concern over the extent and nature of public spending cuts yet to be detailed is widespread,” PwC head of regions Kevin Nicholson said. “The extent of expenditure cuts, given the fiscal deficit, is only now becoming apparent, and the likelihood is that local authorities and regional governments across the country will see significant cutbacks.”
The survey, which was carried out across all the regions in the UK, also showed that a primary concern among business leaders in London is that the government’s new 50 per cent income tax band and stringent changes to the non-dom tax policy will drive entrepreneurs, executives and senior management overseas to more favourable tax regimes.