Business leaders bemoan Budget uncertainty as tax hikes loom
Business leaders up and down the country have poured scorn on the Chancellor after months of Budget uncertainty damaged consumer confidence and forced firms to hold off key investment decisions.
Scores of chief executives, from retail to hospitality to telecoms and manufacturing, have voiced their concern over the lack of a clear fiscal plan after weeks of leaks from government over possible taxes the Treasury could hike at the autumn Budget later this month, moves expected to raise tens of billions of pounds to plug fiscal deficits.
Simon Emeny, executive chair of Fuller’s, one of the UK’s biggest listed pub chains, said the government needed “new ideas, new thinking” if it is to live up to its ambition to grow the economy.
“I hope the Chancellor has heeded the arguments and proposals articulated by the hospitality sector to avoid further punitive financial measures but, more so, I am frustrated by the lack of a clear plan to deliver the growth the Chancellor claims to be seeking,” Emeny said.
Mark Carpenter, chief executive of car dealership Motorpoint, yesterday told Morning Wire that months of leaks and trails over which taxes the government might hike in the Budget “is hugely unhelpful when customers are putting doubts into their minds.”
“This year it’s a month later which is even worse for seasonal retailers…it’s not great if you’re going into a Christmas period with everybody not sure how much money is in their pocket.”
And Jennie Daly, chief executive of the housebuilder Taylor Wimpy, yesterday said: “Market conditions remain challenging, impacted by uncertainty ahead of the upcoming UK Budget and continued affordability pressures.”
Last week, Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts warned “what we don’t want to see is further impacts that may cause further inflation” and in September, BT chief Allison Kirkby told Morning Wire: “We’re already at peak government-inflicted costs.”
Downing Street drinks and nibbles
The chief executives of some of Britain’s biggest bosses are understood to have been invited to meet Keir Starmer in Downing Street last night, as the Prime Minister sought to reassure businesses that the government’s growth plans remained on track.
More than a dozen different tax hikes are thought to have been floated by government sources in recent weeks, including income tax, national insurance, a bank tax, a mansion tax, an “exit” tax and more.
The government is expected to raise taxes by at least £30bn later this month, in a bid to plug the Treasury’s widening fiscal hole. So far, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out moves which would break Labour manifesto pledges not to raise taxes on working people.