A Bradford-based chartered accountant says small businesses want a clear tax system in the next budget.

Grant Rudloff, a partner Auker Rhodes, which is a member of the UK 200 Group of Chartered Accountants, said: "Small businesses have had interesting times in the last few years as regards taxation.

"The current chancellor made some serious reforms of the tax system in his first Budget after coming to power, and he continues to make more changes. "Some of them are welcome; some are not."

Mr Rudloff argues that each year the Finance Act is getting longer and more complicated.

He added: "Mr Brown's first big change in 1998 was to alter capital gains tax radically by introducing taper relief, which reduces gains on assets held for a certain period.

"The problem was that the changes had consequences which were unintended, and the result was that the new relief had to be drastically changed again in 2000.

"They are set for further fine-tuning this year and it is a pity that the changes were not fully thought out when they came in.

"What businesses need is certainty about the tax system in which they work, and we do not seem to have that."

Mr Rudloff says the changes in tax rates had the same result.

Mr Rudloff says tax reductions are often accompanied by concealed increases elsewhere.

He added: "We have had rises in stamp duty to four per cent from 1 per cent, which can affect businesses that want to change premises.

"And, our pension schemes have lost the ability to reclaim tax on dividends they receive so that we will find out our pension funds won't be big enough in 20 years."