Planned cuts to corporation tax next April are to be put on hold, Boris Johnson has said, with the money being spent on the NHS and other services.
The rate paid by firms on their profits was due to fall from 19% to 17%.
But the PM told business leaders it may cost the Treasury £6bn and this was better spent on “national priorities”, including the health service.
Labour said business “handouts” had done real damage and the Tories would “revert to type” after the election.
The announcement does not mean any new money for the NHS, on top of the £20bn extra a year the Conservatives are promising to give it up to 2023. The BBC understands the cash will be used, in part, to fund existing pledges on GP training.
With just over three weeks to go before the 12 December election, the leaders of the three largest parties in England have been parading their business credentials at the CBI conference.
jeremy Corbyn said business had “so much to gain” from a Labour victory in terms of investment while Jo Swinson said the Liberal Democrats were the “natural party of business” because they wanted to cancel Brexit.
Addressing the audience of top executives and entrepreneurs, Mr Johnson said they had “created the wealth that actually pays for the NHS”
