9:38am Tuesday 24th November 2009
THE president of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has warned that the rocketing pensions levy on business could damage UK recovery.
Mr Peter Heginbotham is calling on the Government to look at the problems the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy is causing Greater Manchester firms that offer Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes.
The president chaired a working party on the issue for the British Chambers of Commerce and he says he learned first-hand about the “severe impact” the PPF levy was having on businesses already weighed down by the cost of their own pension schemes.
He said “This particular lifeboat is constructed with planks stolen each year from those ships still afloat in a choppy sea. It’s not surprising that these businesses have difficulty staying afloat”.
The original amount the PPF levy collected from companies with DB schemes was £300 million per year. However, this was raised to £675 million in 2007/8 and now the figure stands at £700 million.
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