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Stormont corporation tax announcement expected Stormont corporation tax bill is published
(about 5 hours later)
A major announcement on the devolution of corporation tax to Stormont is expected to be made later by Secretary of State Theresa Villiers. The legislation which should allow corporation tax powers to be devolved to Stormont has been published.
Ms Villiers is due to make a speech to a gathering of business leaders in Northern Ireland on Thursday morning. The government is aiming to pass the law before May's General Election.
There is speculation that legislation to allow devolution of the powers will be laid before Parliament later. It should allow Northern Ireland to set its own rate of corporation tax from April 2017.
On Wednesday, she said the devolution legislation would be presented "shortly". The devolution of powers to set the corporation tax rate was a key demand of political leaders ahead of the Stormont House Agreement finalised in Belfast last month.
She added that the government would use "all its best endeavours" to pass it before the general election in May. The current rate paid by businesses in Northern Ireland is 21%, compared to 12.5% in the Republic of Ireland.
However, Shadow Secretary of State Ivan Lewis said Labour was concerned at what he described as the government's "rush" to introduce the new legislation. The executive wants to be able to match the tax rate in the Republic of Ireland.
The devolution of powers to set the corporation tax rate was a key demand of political leaders in Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Stormont House Agreement, which was finalised in Belfast last month after 12 weeks of inter-party talks. Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said she was delighted at moves toward devolution of the tax.
"There is strong support for this change across all five of the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive and the business community who believe it would provide a major incentive for domestic businesses to invest further in Northern Ireland and significantly increase foreign direct investment," she said.
"Given the land border shared with a lower corporation tax jurisdiction, this measure has the potential to create thousands of new jobs and stimulate crucial growth in Northern Ireland's private sector, leading to a stronger, re-balanced economy."
She said the bill offered the prospect of a "transformative change in Northern Ireland" and was subject to the important conditions contained in the Stormont House Agreement.
Chancellor George Osborne said: "As I've said over a number of years, there is a strong case for devolving a corporation tax rate-setting power to Northern Ireland.
"Today we recognise this by publishing the law to let this happen. This will give the Northern Ireland Executive greater power to rebalance the economy towards a stronger private sector, boosting employment and growth.
"We want to work with the NI Executive to ensure that Northern Ireland will attract investment and become more competitive, boosting the entire UK economy."
On Wednesday, Shadow Secretary of State Ivan Lewis said Labour was concerned at what he described as the government's "rush" to introduce the new legislation.