Competitiveness, not complacency

On Tuesday 15 March, Professor Dan Hamilton of Johns Hopkins

University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations in DC hosted a panel

discussion to launch "Europe 2020 – Competitive or Complacent".

Professor Hamilton warned that 2020 was the closing window for Europe

within which it needed to position itself into a competitive place in

an increasingly inter-connected world.

His book suggested several priorities, ranging from getting the economic

recovery right, driving growth and fuelling innovation.  I agree with

him and the UK is already ahead of the pack.  The British Chancellor

set out last week how we’re taking urgent action to tackle the UK’s

unsustainable budget deficit, to reduce public sector borrowing from 11%

of GDP in 2010 to 1% in 2015, and to rebalance growth away from the

public sector and towards the private sector where it belongs. But here’s some other robust measures we’re taking under the Plan

for Growth that the British Government announced at the same time:

• reducing corporate tax from 28% to 23% by 2014, which will make it the lowest rate in the G7;

• introducing a Patent Box, that will see company profits from patents taxed at only 10%;

• reforming the tax rules on Controlled Foreign Companies and Foreign

Branches, continuing the move to a more territorial system of corporate

taxation;

• unlocking £200bn in private and public sector investment in infrastructure, like transport, communications and energy;

• binning red tape. We’re already enforcing a regulatory policy of "one

in, one out".  Now we’ll be carrying out a public review of 21,000

business regulations.  We’re giving micro businesses and start-ups a

3-year moratorium from new regulations.  And we’re slashing the number

of regulatory bodies and agencies.

• reviewing our Intellectual Property rules, encouraging work-sharing

and other ways of reducing the global backlog in patent approvals, and

pushing for an efficient and cost-effective EU patent.

• having established ourselves as a leader in the low carbon economy,

backed up by innovation, intelligence, expertise, capability, we’re

putting in place the first ever carbon price floor for the power sector,

 and are putting £3bn into the Green Investment Bank.

• reforming our immigration rules to concentrate on attracting the

brightest and best, investors and entrepreneurs, and those of

exceptional talent, as well as keeping open the doors to Intra Company

Transfers.

• focussing on skills, by ring-fencing our schools budget, increasing

the number of apprenticeships to 250,000, and setting up Technology and

Innovation Centres.

Our Plan for Growth will create the most competitive tax system in the

G20, make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a

business, encourage investment and exports, and create a more educated

workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.

No room for complacency here, and we’re not shy of saying so!