To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of rises in taxation since 1997 on small businesses. [124661]

The Government have taken a number of steps to reduce the impact of the tax system on small business and to reward entrepreneurship; including the introduction of a zero rate of corporation tax, tax credits for R&D, reductions in the rates of income tax and measures to reduce the administrative burden of VAT.