Starmer thanks business for shouldering tax burden
Keir Starmer has thanked the British business community for bearing the brunt of his government’s tax raid in last year’s Budget, acknowledging he had asked a lot of UK plc since entering office.
Addressing the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) annual conference, the Prime Minister said the £23bn hike to employer national insurance contributions (NICS) had helped fund the hospitals, skills and infrastructure.
“I fully acknowledge that this year, as we’ve had to fix the foundations of our country… we’ve asked a lot of you,” he told delegates. “I understand that and I want to acknowledge that it has made a huge difference. Because of it, the money has gone into the NHS and waiting lists are coming down. We’ve put investment into the skills… new homes [and] new roads.”
“I want to say thank you,” he added.
The words represent the clearest concession to date from the Prime Minister of the demands his administration has placed on businesses since entering office.
As well as the shock hike to NICs, many large employers have had to meet the parallel demands of an above-inflation pay rise for staff on minimum wage and continued uncertainty around business rates.
The looming spectre of a workers’ rights package that government figures have chalked up as costing £5bn for UK firms is also on firms’ horizons.
Starmer urged ‘no further tax increases on business’
Starmer’s comments followed a stark demand from BCC director general Shevaun Haviland for the government to commit not to raise any more taxes on UK plc at its next fiscal event in the autumn.
Speaking at the conference, Haviland urged ministers not to make “firms pick up any more of the tax burden” as they battle “huge cost pressures”.
“If there is one message I want government to take away, it is this: there must be no further tax increases at the autumn Budget,” she said.
The Prime Minister did not rule out further tax raises, but trumpeted the government’s newly minted trade strategy, unveiled by the Department for Business and Trade on Thursday.
The strategy, the first by any British government since Brexit, bolstered funding for the state’s export credit agency and announced measures to quash red tape for small exporting businesses. It also confirmed a push to improve recognition of UK education certificates in a bit to boost services exports.
“Trade isn’t just about goods,” Starmer said. “We’re a services superpower – so we’ll back our exporting services as well [and] show more flexibility in that approach.
“And we want to push not just for traditional trade agreements but also for smaller deals that we can make quicker and at pace.”