Rachel Reeves and co can be forgiven for looking at the myriad problems the nation faces this morning and thinking that the City of London can hardly be a priority.
As hard as Labour fought to woo the City and wider business, it would in some ways be understandable if it thought rotting schools and hospitals a far bigger deal.
The City of London is surely big enough and ugly enough to look after itself.
The thing is, there are several things the new government could do which might quite quickly help raise money that could pay for those very things that most concern it.
One quick, eye-catching move which would be cheered across the Square Mile would be to bring back the dividend tax credit relief cancelled by Gordon Brown.
This move doesn't raise any money for the Treasury anymore, since, driven by caution, the pension funds only own 4% of the UK stock market these days. With friendlier tax deals, they might buy more stocks. That would boost the market, and in time, the value of the funds.
Three other ideas:
1) Remove liability for pension fund trustees so they aren't petrified of doing anything interesting (since pension funds are nearly all moving into surplus due to higher interest rates, it is time to take a few risks).
2) Stop regulations being the same for smaller companies as larger companies. The burden is disproportionate on smaller companies and can be overwhelming.
3) Encourage entrepreneurs to take risks by increasing the limit of entrepreneurs relief on Capital Gains Tax and remove the lifetime allowance so these rare risk-takers can build multiple businesses, create growth and boost tax receipts for the Treasury long into the future.
Tim Cockroft, Chair of Singer Capital Markets said:
"We believe with these nil cost, easy and quick to implement steps, Rachel Reeves and Labour will sow the seeds for future long-term economic growth. If they get this right, it could have as big an impact as when Labour gave the Bank of England independence in 1997."
Go for it.
