§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what impact the proposed changes to corporation tax will have on forecast net returns on capital in each of the next four years. [20879]
§ Mrs. Beckett[holding answer 15 December 1997]: Overall, the changes will have little impact on companies' post tax profits, which are of course computed on an accruals basis rather than by reference to cash flow. No company will pay more corporation tax in total as a result of the changes, and from 1999 companies will be free to take a whole range of business decisions without having to worry about ACT and, more particularly, surplus ACT.