Family business tax proposals petition

An online petition against the government’s Family Business Tax proposals has attracted more than 7,500 signatures.

The petition, which closed this week, was launched by an organisation representing professional contractors and freelance managers.

According to the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) the petition is in the top 20 of the 6,500 petitions on the 10 Downing Street website. It has attracted more support than calls to reduce fuel duty, not to extend pre-charge detention and to protect small shops.

PCG’s managing director, John Brazier, said he would like to thank everyone who signed the petition.

He said communicating the strength of feeling among the business community played a huge role in persuading the government to delay and rethink its proposals.

When it announced its decision to postpone the Family Business Tax, he added, the government admitted that it needed to provide clarity and certainty for businesses and their advisers. The uncertainty the measure would cause was one of the major criticisms levelled at the proposals by the petition.

The petition will now be passed to officials for a formal response and signatories can expect to receive a copy of the response by email. Meanwhile the PCG is continuing to consult with HMRC, tax and accountancy experts as well as politicians from all parties.