Source: BBC

George Osborne has pledged to slash corporation tax to encourage businesses to still invest in the UK following the EU referendum vote.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the chancellor said he would cut the rate to below 15% – some 5% lower than its current 20% rate.

That would give the UK the lowest corporation tax of any major economy.

Mr Osborne said the cut was part of his plans to build a “super-competitive economy” with low tax rates.

A Treasury spokesperson confirmed the Financial Times’s story was correct but said they did not know when the cut would happen.

In March, the chancellor said corporation tax would fall to 17% by 2020.

Mr Osborne told the FT it was important for “Britain to “get on with it” to prove to investors that the country was still “open for business”.

Analysis: Theo Leggett, BBC business reporter

Before the referendum, George Osborne said that a vote to leave the EU would force him to introduce billions of pounds worth of tax increases and spending cuts in order to repair damage to the public finances.

It is now clear that his real strategy is very different.

The proposed cut to corporation tax, which would give the UK one of the lowest rates of any major economy, is designed to help the country attract new investment and court businesses which might otherwise have been put off by the uncertainty surrounding the country’s relationship with the EU.

Mr Osborne’s announcement comes amid reports that the Bank of England could this week lower the amount of capital banks have to keep aside as a safety net in case of unexpected risks.

On Tuesday, the Bank publishes the outcome of its bi-annual Financial Policy Committee meeting which looks at risks to the UK’s financial stability.

Mr Carney said last week that the Bank would take “any further actions it deems appropriate to support financial stability”.

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