George Osborne is planning to slash corporation tax to less than 15 per cent in an effort to woo business deterred from investing in a post-Brexit Britain as part of his new five-point plan to galvanise the economy.

Mr Osborne wants to set the lowest corporation tax rate of any major economy, announcing a target of less than 15 per cent, down from 20 per cent now. He said Britain should “get on with it” to prove to investors that the country was still “open for business”.

Such a sharp cut in business taxes would take Britain close to the 12.5 corporation tax rate in Ireland and would anger EU finance ministers who fear a race to the bottom. The move could also alienate voters, given recent controversies over tax deals struck with multinationals such as Google.