BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) has warned that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will send Britain in an anti-investment direction if he pushes ahead with his planned increase in corporation tax.
The Chancellor plans to increase the tax rate on businesses to 25% from 19% in April.
The telecoms giant said the tax hike would harm the UK’s international standing and pose a threat to the country’s economy.
“Productivity growth is stubbornly low and although not just a UK problem, does mean that some of our international competitors are starting to outpace us,” said BT’s CFO, Simon Lowth, in the Telegraph.
BT is not the only company that has been vocal against the government's policy.
James Dyson, the founder of the Dyson hoovers, said the government was short-sighted and accused the Conservatives of penalising the private sector to win votes.
Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) chairman John Allan believes that the only way to raise living standards is with a “really serious, thought-through, long-term growth plan”, according to The Telegraph report.
At a 25% rate of tax, UK companies would still be paying less tax than their US, German, French and Japanese counterparts.