The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has denied a U-turn after deciding not to publish a report into the impact of the government’s capital gains tax changes (CGT) on Aim.

When asked by Shares last month when the report would be published LSE chief executive Clara Furse said within ‘a couple of weeks’. That deadline passed on Thursday (29 November).

Now the LSE says the report has been passed to the Treasury and ‘there is no plan to publish it’. Asked why Furse did not refute that the report would be made public a spokesman replied: ‘No [she didn’t] but she did not say it would be published either.’

About 50% of Aim’s shareholders are private investors. Many higher-rate tax payers face an 80% increase in their capital gains tax bills from April, when chancellor Alistair Darling’s proposed 18% flat rate of CGT is introduced.

While hitting Aim investors, the changes benefit the LSE’s main board. Here starting tax for higher-rate tax payers will fall from 40% to 18%. But the LSE denied it was prepared to sacrifice Aim for the benefit of the main board, where most of its revenues are generated.

If the chancellor’s proposals go ahead then a higher-rate tax payer on Aim will pay 18% on gains from 6 April as opposed to the current 10% after two years. Last week Darling said he would unveil adjustments to his CGT proposals within weeks.

To join Shares’own campaign on the matter visit www.sharesmagazine.com/survey