Ain’t that a kick in the teeth?

Since the ban on fox hunting, it seems the Lords have been making fairly good use of their time.

In fact, they’ve managed to form a committee to look at how Darling did on his first Budget – or should that be, ‘to look at how Brown, who sat behind Darling and mimed the words all the way through, did on his last Budget’?

And their conclusion?

The whole thing is shambolic.

In particular – and we knew this four months ago too – the bit about Capital Gains Tax, which the Lords politely said ‘undermines the stability of the tax regime’. It was also described, with slightly less restraint, as a ‘kick in the teeth’ by Duncan Cheatle, founder of The Supper Club.

The Lords’ main quibble with the abolition of taper relief was the lack of consultation. “The consultation had been very poorly handled and fell well short of good practice,” the report said. “The Committee were not persuaded by officials that there had been a clear policy statement and see no reason why there could not have been earlier, better and more open consultation.”

This must be confusing to entrepreneurs, most of whom were fairly convinced when we attended a discussion about the pre-Budget report in October, that there had been no consultation whatsoever.

“A lot of our members are united in frustration and anger – they’re not clear at all why this was rushed through without any kind of consultation,” said Cheatle.

“They’re despondent that it doesn’t seem to reflect any understanding of the impact it’s going to have on those who are paying tax and taking a hell of a risk. They feel like they’ve had a kick in the teeth.”

As Glasses Direct founder (and LINK TO DM ARTICLE recently-ousted boyfriend of Apprentice winner Michelle Dewbury) Jamie Murray Wells put it: “As an entrepreneur you work hard, and the sweetener was this 10% rate. The 80% hike has wiped away a great deal of the upside.”

The Lords’ report says the new tax system ‘cannot be good for the competitiveness of the UK economy’.

Politicians often say the UK is a ‘great place to do business’, and it is. For many, though, it feels like Darling is constantly looking for new ways to deter would-be entrepreneurs.

Darling has not made good on his promise to UK businesses that they would not be the ‘fiscal fall guy’ for failings in other areas. It’s time for him to take another look at his policies, or risk losing out on innovation.