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  3. In the run-up to his latest budget, nothing seemed to be going George Osborne’s way. The economy was slowing down, biting into t

In the run-up to his latest budget, nothing seemed to be going George Osborne’s way. The economy was slowing down, biting into t

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问题     In the run-up to his latest budget, nothing seemed to be going George Osborne’s way. The economy was slowing down, biting into the chancellor’s tax revenues. Growing worries about the June referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union prompted the Treasury to cancel a proposed overhaul of the pensions system. But when Mr Osborne stood up on March 16th, he gave the impression that nothing would knock him off his course to reform the British economy.
    It was a budget "for the next generation," he said repeatedly, as if to emphasise the scale of his ambition. With an extra ￡7.6 billion ( $ 10.9 billion) of spending cuts, Britain is still forecast to run a budget surplus of & 10 billion in 2019-2020, just before an election. Lessening the burden of government debt on future generations, he argued , is the right thing to do, as is implementing the structural reforms that will make the British economy more competitive. In that regard, at least, Mr Osborne’s budget speech hit the right tone. But there was not enough to back it up.
    The biggest set of reforms, of company taxation, may indeed make the Britain of tomorrow a better place to do business. Following an agreement in November by the OECD, a club of mainly rich countries, Mr Osborne tweaked rules under which firms offset debt-interest payments against their corporation-tax bill.
    Small businesses, which complain most about tax-dodging by big firms with expensive lawyers, are particularly happy. Mr Osborne raised the threshold up to which small companies are eligible for relief on business rates, taxes charged on non-domestic property. About 250,000 firms will see lower rates, a welcome windfall for those worrying about a higher minimum wage to be introduced next month. Among big, rich economies Britain has one of the lowest rates of rapidly growing small firms, which holds back productivity, according to a recent report by Goldman Sachs.
    Further incentives to invest were put in place through a reduction in corporation tax, which will fall to 17% by 2020, one of the lowest rates in the rich world. Greater certainty over future tax policy is welcomed by businessfolk. The big downside for all firms is the ever-increasing complexity of the tax code: Mr Osborne smashed his own record by introducing an astonishing 86 tax measures in the budget.
    These plans may marginally improve competitiveness in the long term, but for now they are likely to favour oldies over youngsters. Lowering capital-gains tax benefits those with assets in the first place. Add in the increase in the personal tax-allowance and a rise in the threshold for paying a higher rate of income tax — from which richer (and older) types will benefit more than poor youngsters — and many policies seem skewed against the young.
Mr. Orsborne notes that structural reforms are being initiated to
选项 A、keep a leading position in the global market.
B、relieve future generations of financial burdens.
C、redefine government’s role in budget allocation.
D、boost the competitiveness of British economy.
答案D
解析 (1)本题题干“发起结构性改革”对应第2段的“implementing the structural reforms”。(2)根据文章，“进行结构性改革是正确的举措，其目的是为了增强英国的竞争力”(第2段：more competitive)。(3)作者在最后一段再次提到，Osborne的计划的确可以稍微提高竞争力，这说明竞争力是一个关键概念。综合这些信息，确定选项[D]为最佳答案。
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