The Coalition Government's programme published last month doesn't contain many specific proposals on taxation. While it doesn't give us much insight into what may be proposed, certain Income Tax and Capital Gains tax reforms are proposed.

Once you've waded through the soft aspirational stuff which is de riguer for this kind of statement, we have the following:

• In the first Budget a substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011, with the benefits focused on those with lower and middle incomes, funded in part by increases in Capital Gains Tax rates for non-business assets.
• An increase in employer National Insurance thresholds.
• Further increases in the personal allowance to £10,000, towards meeting this as a longer-term policy objective.
• Possible introduction of transferable tax allowances for married couples.
• The taxing of non-business capital gains at rates similar or close to those applied to income, with generous exemptions for entrepreneurial business activities.
• An emphasis on tackling tax avoidance
• More “Green” taxes
• New rules for Non Domiciles

For insight into Corporation Tax policy we must look to the speech given on 19 May last by the new Chancellor George Osborne to the Confederation of British Industry.

The Chancellor promised a major reshaping over a 5 year-period of the UK corporate tax system by simplifying reliefs and allowances, and tackling avoidance “in order to reduce headline rates”.

Quoting directly from his speech - “Our aim is to create the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20, while protecting manufacturing industries”.The Chancellor also announced a further reform of the current Controlled Foreign Companies rules.