by Malcolm Hyde, regional director, CBI

From recent headlines blurring the distinction between legitimate practices and evasion, you might believe that British business contributes next to nothing to government tax revenue.

Yet in the year 2010-11, business paid about £163 billion in taxes, over a quarter of all tax revenue - roughly the equivalent of the combined 2010 budgets for the Departments of Health and Education, and the Police.

But this is not the full story. In addition to paying corporation tax on their £42bn profits, businesses also contribute as property owners, employers and consumers; £24bn -business rates, £56bn - National Insurance and £40bn - fuel duty and others, respectively.

British business underpins a vast amount of revenue available to the government, and it should also be made clear that the scope and appetite for what is known as abusive tax avoidance has already been severely circumscribed for large companies.

Previous abuses have been reduced or eliminated.

It should also be recognised that responsible management of tax issues is a necessary part of business activity, made more important by the complexities of UK and international tax systems.

It is absolutely right that no business should engage in abusive tax arrangements. However, in running day to day activities, as well as in commercial transactions, businesses need to manage their tax affairs. Their size matters not one jot as the sums involved are relative.

Most UK businesses would never contemplate evading or defrauding the government. But they have been slow to join the public debate to defend their record and advocate pro-growth tax policies.

In the Budget, the Chancellor sent out a strong signal by announcing his intention to construct the most competitive tax regime in the G20 to encourage companies to invest and stay in the UK.

This is extremely encouraging since in an era of global competition, business places a much larger value on operating within simple and predictable tax environments.

Again this might be seen as natural territory for the "big boys," but we need to remember that these companies sit atop a large and long supply chain which feeds down to the smallest company by way of products or services.

I don't expect the issue of "tax cheats" to ever go away. But it is time for the shroud to be lifted and misinformation dispelled so that everyone can understand how a competitive tax system can benefit us all.