IoD urges Coalition to put cuts ahead of new taxes

THE Institute of Directors is urging the Government to focus on cutting spending rather than increasing taxes when it puts forward plans to balance the country’s books next week.

While the Government has promised to ring fence spending on health and international development, the IoD insists that investment in transport, energy and IT infrastructure should be protected.

Miles Templeman, director-general of the IoD, said: “The Government’s overall objective of reducing the deficit with a heavy emphasis on spending cuts rather than tax hikes is absolutely right.

“However, there are good and bad ways to lower public spending, and we’re concerned that our already creaking infrastructure is going to suffer further because of the Coalition’s ‘salami slicing approach’ to cutting the deficit.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg recently promised that the comprehensive spending review would include capital investment in infrastructure despite reductions in Government spending overall.

The IoD wants the Comprehensive Spending Review to be more radical than expected, with commitments to end national collective pay bargaining and wholesale reform of pensions in the public sector.