By Max Clarke
The Coalition Government’s ambition to be ‘the greenest government ever’ presents a ‘source of great uncertainty’ for the UK’s businesses, the CBI said yesterday in their appraisal of the Coalition’s first year in power.
Leading business organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), have evaluated a range of Coalition policies and found that talks of a low-carbon economy are creating the greatest unease for the country’s businesses.
Progress on greening the economy has been slow, the CBI found, while the carbon floor price levy on CO2 produced by businesses is perceived as yet another tax.
“The new carbon floor price cannot be allowed to compromise the competitiveness of our heaviest energy users,” warned CBI director general, John Cridland, “and must not become little more than a tax raiser.
"The Government must also commit to consulting on any future changes to energy tax, as we don’t want a repeat of the recent counter-productive hike in North Sea oil and gas tax."
Chancellor Osborne’s oil and gas tax hike radically boosted the price of North Sea extraction to the point that Centrica mothballed their Morcambe Bay site, claiming it had ceased being profitable.
Tens of thousands of jobs have been threatened by what has been dubbed ‘a smash and grab raid’. Further raises, the CBI warn, could lead to similar disinvestment in other sectors.
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