Asked what level it should be during an interview on GB News, he said: “12.5%, along with the Irish. I think the Irish have got this right.
“As I’ve been explaining to the Government for several years, the Irish collect four times as much tax per head from business tax than we do by setting a rate which is now half our level.
“We’ve watched as Ireland has attracted massive American investment, particularly in the digital industries, the really exciting growth area of the world economy, and much of that investment would probably come to Britain if we’d had the same corporation tax rate as the Republic of Ireland.”
In an interview with Camilla Tominey, he also called for the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles to be abandoned: “They should pause that policy as the European Union has done, and the European Union is particularly enthusiastic about net zero policies, as we know, but they see that it’s going to kill the German motor industry.
“But the other thing they need to do urgently, this Government, is to suspend the policy of taxing companies from next year if they don’t sell enough electric cars and sell too many petrol and diesel cars.
“It’s a crazy disincentive to any manufacturer to come to Britain and a particular barrier for our industry at a time when it needs support and help. The industry is crying out to lift that, so I would urge the Government to do that immediately. “
Asked if Margaret Thatcher would support net zero, he said: ”As a scientist worried about the environment, she would have taken the scientific advice very seriously, but she would not have adopted policies in Britain which singled us out for particular punishment but left the world with more CO2.
“As a result, she would not have been a fan of any policy which banned things in Britain leading to imports which gave you more CO2 because of the transport to get the goods into Britain.”
