Osborne to cut tax and rates for British businesses

Britain will cut corporation tax and raise the threshold at which small businesses pay rates, George Osborne said on Wednesday in a boost to firms as Britain's economy grows by less than previously forecast.

Corporation tax has been progressively cut by both Osborne and his Labour predecessors, with the rate currently at 20 percent with plans already in place to cut it to 18 percent.

But in his annual budget speech on Wednesday Osborne said he would go further and cut the rate to 17 percent by April 2020.

Changes to business rates will help hundreds of thousands of small companies, he added.

"From April next year, 600,000 small businesses will pay no business rates at all," he said. "That’s an annual saving for them of up to nearly 6,000 pounds – forever. A further quarter of a million businesses will see their rates cut."

Britain cuts growth forecasts sharply for 2016 and 2017

Britain has cut sharply its forecast for economic growth this year and next, Chancellor George Osborne said in his annual budget statement on Wednesday.

The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast gross domestic product would grow by 2.0 percent this year compared with a 2.4 percent estimate in November, and rise by 2.2 percent in 2017 versus November's 2.5 percent estimate, Osborne told parliament.

He said the economy was forecast to grow by 2.1 percent in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

"Financial markets are turbulent. Productivity growth across the west is too low. And the outlook for the global economy is weak. It makes for a dangerous cocktail of risks," Osborne said.

He said the forecasts were based on the assumption that Britain voted to stay in the European Union at a referendum in June 23.