Budget 2008 - Calls for less theatre and more help for businesses

As Budget 2008 nears, the CBI has sent Alistair Darling an "alternative speech" to save the nation from what is bound to be a high-spin, low-meat affair, mainly due to the worrying state of public finances.

Alongside the speech, the CBI has also sensibly provided a more conventional submission to the Treasury in which it states the need to rebuild the Government's enterprise credentials, which have been badly damaged following a series of botched measures over the past six months.

In Public Spending, the CBI believes that the nation's current account won't move out of deficit until 2011/12 (two years after the Government prediction). The submission suggests a tightening on Government spending for the next few years, rather than raising corporate and personal taxation at a time when the economy needs to be encouraged.

In terms of rebuilding the Government's enterprise credentials, the CBI suggests stalling the proposed small companies' tax rate at 20% rather than continuing the stepped rise to 22% by 2009.

Unsurprisingly, the business group suggests that the farcical "entrepreneurs' relief" on capital gains, should not be capped at £1m. Alongside other suggestions, the submission calls for a delay to the income shifting measures which are aimed at family firms.

You can read the full CBI alternative speech and Budget submission here.