Bradley echoed CBI president Sir John Egan’s call for government to “treat business as partners and not as voteless cows to be milked”.
She stressed that the UK paper industry had already been hit with environmental legislation such as Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), ahead of its European counterparts. This has been coupled with the increase in National Insurance contributions, which have effectively wiped out any rebates from the Climate Change Levy.
“The government needs to take notice. If the UK paper industry is to have a dynamic future there have to be some tax concessions,” said Bradley.
The Paper Federation is seeking a meeting with Treasury ministers after calling on chancellor Gordon Brown to take action.
Last month Egan made the call for lower business taxes at the CBI’s West Midlands Summer Banquet.
Bradley called on the government to stop what she called its “almost colonial attitude” to adopt everything first.
“Other countries say ‘no we cannot implement this scheme yet or adopt this policy’. Our government has to learn to do the same,” she said.
Story by Andy Scott
