BUSINESS leaders in Oxfordshire are urging Chancellor Gordon Brown to improve transport and cut red tape in tomorrow's Budget.

In a pre-Budget submission on behalf of its 4,000 members in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry sets out five key improvements it would like to see.

To improve businesses competitiveness it said the Government should:

* Introduce a 'learning space' of at least four months between a regulation being approved and coming into force

* Establish a business-led tax simplification task force

* Adopt measures which compensate small business for the use of their payroll to pay taxes and distribute benefits.

On transport the Chamber is urging the Chancellor to abandon plans to introduce workplace parking charges and set up a fund so that local authorities can invest in public transport.

Chamber policy manager Andy Corrigan said: "Our feedback from Chamber members is that red tape and transport are two of the key issues for business in Oxfordshire at the moment.

"This submission ensures that the Chancellor has the benefit of that real business experience as he prepares his Budget."

The call for a concerted effort to cut red tape was backed by the Federation of Small Businesses, which has made the issue its key proposal in its submission to the Exchequer.

FSB financial affairs spokesman Tony Miller said: "It may seem unusual to lead with a call to slash red tape, but this is the number one priority for the majority of entrepreneurs."

He said red tape meant business made less profit and cut Government revenue.

Story date: Monday 20 March

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