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A report from a study group for the centre-right opposition party in the UK has said the party's ambition should be to reduce the corporate tax rate to 25%. This can be done by cutting tax reliefs, the group said.

The Conservative Party's economic policy competitiveness group pointed to other EU member states, such as Ireland and the Netherlands, as examples of how Britain could reduce its corporate tax rate and watch its economy grow.

"Countries with very low corporation tax rates have seen businesses grow especially quickly, with many new enterprises relocating, in order to take advantage of a more benign corporate climate," the report said.

The report says that the tax burden has led some companies to consider moving out of Britain. That's not an easy statement to stand up as most businesses will not speak about this issue on the record.

The group also recommended the abolition of stamp duty on share purchases It welcomed the government's to cut capital gains tax to encourage and start-up businesses. It said tax should not apply to any asset held for more than 10 years and that what's known as taper relief, or a cut in CGT for investments held for certain periods of time before they are sold, should apply to all chargeable assets.

"The London stock market has risen despite this uncompetitive penalty, only because banks have been very imaginative in designing and trading other instruments that do not attract the duty," the report said.

The Conservative Party's front bench is not committed to following any of the economic policy competitiveness group's recommendations on tax or the other issues raised in the report

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