In vain will you read (my) pronouncements for an acknowledgment that China and India represent an opportunity for sales and investment rather than a threat . . .

Yet in my speech to the Social Market Foundation I went out of my way to talk about the new opportunities that exist in these powerful emerging markets. Indeed, I am visiting Beijing and Shanghai to see them for myself.

He also points out some of the obstacles to introducing a pure flat tax into a mature tax system like the UK’s. I flagged up these obstacles in my speech. That is why I make it clear that I will be asking the Commission on Tax Reform to look at the prospect of simpler and flatter taxes that fall short of a pure flat tax.

However, there is one thing Mr Kamm and I are going to have to disagree on fundamentally. He says that to state that many countries in Europe are reducing taxes is neither true nor relevant. I am sorry, but it is true. Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Denmark are all reducing their corporate tax rates. That surely is relevant to Britain’s ability to compete.

GEORGE OSBORNE
House of Commons

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