16.01.13
Private providers should not be corporation tax exempt – Monitor
Monitor has clarified that its Fair Playing Field review will not recommend that private providers to the NHS should be exempt from corporation tax.
Earlier this week the Guardian reported that a source who had seen a draft of the review said Monitor was “sympathetic” to arguments for independent providers to be exempt from corporation tax on some supplies and support services.
Public sector hospitals are exempt from corporation tax, and some claim this gives them an advantage over alternative providers.
Monitor has published a statement ruling out the possibility of a recommendation for private providers to be exempt.
It said: “Monitor has yet to decide what recommendations it will make to the secretary of state. However, in the light of recent media speculation, Monitor has decided to clarify the position on one specific issue. While it is the case that corporation tax is one of many distortions that the review is looking at, Monitor will not be recommending that private sector providers should be exempt from paying corporation tax.”
In a letter to the Guardian, Monitor's chief executive, David Bennett said that there were not yet any drafts of the review and added: “Monitor has a statutory duty to promote and protect the interests of patients and any suggestion that we are working on behalf of the private sector misrepresents our core duty.”
The Fair Playing Field review is due to be shown to health secretary Jeremy Hunt later this month, who will respond by March 27.
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