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| The UK ranked highly in terms of business freedom |
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| 发布时间：2014-02-21 点击： 次 |
| The UK ranked highly in terms of business freedom, trade freedom, monetary freedom, property rights, financial freedom, and freedom from corruption, but did not score as highly in terms of fiscal freedom and freedom from government intervention. In the Doing Business 2011 report, the UK was ranked 17th for starting a business, 10th for protecting investors, 16th for dealing with construction permits, 23rd for registering property, second for getting credit, and ninth for closing a business. Additionally, according to Doing Business 2011, only six stages, 13 days, and 0.7% of per capita gross national income (GNI) are needed for a person to start a business in the UK. In contrast, the averages among the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are 5.6 stages, 13.8 days, and 5.3% of per capita GNI. Outlook Chancellor George Osborne announced in his March 2011 budget that corporate taxes would be reduced from 28% to 26% from April 2012. He also added that the tax rate would then be reduced by one percentage point a year to reach 23% by 2014–15. Estimates by the Treasury indicate that this will save companies around ￡425m during 2011–12, increasing to reach around ￡1bn a year in four years' time. The tax cuts will make UK taxes on company profits among the lowest in the G20 group of countries. Mr Osborne also gave extra incentives to small companies to invest in R&D. Small companies will qualify for a tax exemption of 200% of the expenditure on R&D, up from 175%. Banks in the UK will have to pay another ￡400m in tax during 2011–14, in addition to a levy on their balance sheets to make up for the benefit of paying lower corporation tax. The government has made it clear that the banks are not going to benefit from this corporation tax reduction, as the Treasury has decided to increase the tax they pay on their overall balance sheets from 0.075% to 0.078%. ENVIRONMENTAL LANDSCAPE Summary In the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) holds the responsibility for drafting and implementing policy with regard to environmental protection and sustainable development. Defra identifies its priority as “the need to tackle climate change internationally and through domestic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to secure a healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment.” Environmental policy in the UK now aims to tackle air, water, noise, and land and soil pollution as separate problems. The UK subscribes to environmental policies set by the EU and has ratified the Kyoto Protocol. In recent times, the UK has taken some proactive efforts to create a successor agreement to the treaty. It has also made a number of internal and external commitments that aim towards a reduction in various types of pollutants. Evolution The first initiative towards the environment in the UK was taken with the establishment of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, which was followed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), the Water Resources Act 1991, and the Land Drainage Act 1991. Environmental conservation activities in the UK were increased with the establishment of the Environmental Act 1995. This act brought the following institutions under its control: the National Rivers Authorities, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution, the waste regulation authorities in England and Wales, and the London Waste Regulation Authority. Structure and policies Environmental regulations Defra is the government department responsible for environmental concerns in the UK. |
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