Title: The political debate on corporate tax cuts - the UK 2015 general election campaign

Authors: Marc Pilkington

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Epoka University, Albania

Abstract: The stance toward big business was a heated topic during Britain's 2015 general election campaign that led to the triumphal, albeit slightly unexpected, re-election of David Cameron, as Prime Minister. More profoundly, it raised the issue of the impact of corporation tax cuts and business-friendly policies in the UK. Firstly, after a review of literature on the burden of corporation tax, we analyse the electoral arguments on both sides of the political spectrum. These discussions are framed within the overarching approach known as supply-side economics, prevalent in English-speaking countries since the neoliberal revolution in the late 1970s. Secondly, we put forward the idea that widening inequalities, as suggested by the IMF, might be destabilising, and that pushing the supply-side stance with disregard for issues such as tax avoidance may have hampered long-term economic growth prospects.

Keywords: general election; UK; corporation tax cuts; business-friendly policies; innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2023.131878

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2023 Vol.10 No.3, pp.259 - 284

Received: 06 Apr 2022
Accepted: 20 Apr 2022
Published online: 04 Jul 2023 *

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