Alistair Darling faced a barrage of criticism after revealing that he would not clarify his capital gains tax plans until the new year.

Speaking in the Commons, the Chancellor said that the capital gains tax concessions being discussed with the business community were "quite complex" and he would not now honour the pledge he gave at the CBI's annual conference two weeks ago to present the final details ahead of Christmas.

"It's now not going to be possible to conclude that process until the new year," Mr Darling said. Challenged by Vince Cable, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, to explain why, he added: "I want to make sure we get these things right and that's what I intend to do."

The delay will mean that business owners will have to wait until at least the second week of January to learn how they will be affected by the tax changes.

The House of Commons rises for Christmas on Tuesday and does not return until January 7.
Business groups said they were frustrated by the delay but welcomed the fact that the Treasury was taking their suggestions seriously. They will be invited to meet Treasury officials for further discussions next week.

Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, said: "We are glad that the Chancellor is paying attention to the submissions he has received from the business community, but he needs to get on with this decision urgently, as he promised at the CBI's conference a fortnight ago.

"People need to be able to make decisions about their businesses - whether to invest, or whether to sell up. This uncertainty must not be allowed to continue."

The opposition parties were less sympathetic. Mr Cable said: "It is entirely unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of businesses should be forced to live in this continued environment of uncertainty purely because the Government bungled its original proposals."

George Osborne, shadow chancellor, said the delay was a "humiliation" for Mr Darling. "It's an open secret that the Treasury concessions are ready. The only explanation for the incompetence in not making them public as promised is that Gordon Brown has blocked them at the last minute while he dithers about what to do."

Accountants have warned that business owners thinking of selling up have only a limited time left to take advantage of the current 10pc rate on business assets held for more than two years.

The Chancellor has proposed this ''tapered" rate be replaced by a flat rate of 18pc on all assets, bringing the CGT on property assets, such as second homes, and shares in line with business assets.

The Treasury has accepted the need for concessions to its original plan. These are likely to focus on reducing the impact of the 80pc tax rise on entrepreneurs selling up and on the owners of long-standing firms that also face the loss of inflation protection, called indexation. This means that for the first time the Treasury will tax the inflationary rise in value of business assets from next April.

Source: The Telegraph