{"id":2022,"date":"2025-09-27T00:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T00:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=2022"},"modified":"2025-09-27T00:50:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T00:50:36","slug":"uk-businesses-to-warn-labour-against-another-tax-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=2022","title":{"rendered":"UK businesses to warn Labour against another tax raid"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Businesses heading to Labour\u2019s Liverpool conference next week will urge the government to avoid another tax raid on companies at the next Budget and put party infighting to one side.<\/p>\n

After Labour\u2019s painful first year in government, marked by what companies said was a tax-grabbing Budget that betrayed its pro-business claims, executives are using the party\u2019s conference to ensure mistakes do not happen again in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be lots of \u201cplease don\u2019t tax us or we\u2019ll have to fire people and pull investment\u2019,\u201d said one public affairs executive. Another said the government would be warned it risked increasing living costs and damaging growth if more charges were heaped on business. It would also be told to \u201cget on with simplifying regulation and stop doing things that keep pushing up costs\u201d, the second public affairs executive said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur message is there can be no more taxes on businesses and our members will be looking for reassurance on this over conference,\u201d said Shevaun Haviland, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce. \u201cBusinesses want to see more on infrastructure, more on helping people back to work and a tax system that incentivises growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tom Lees, founder and chief executive of Bradshaw Advisory, said business leaders were aware they \u201cprovided a juicy and politically easier target than .\u2009.\u2009.\u2009welfare reform or pensioner benefits, given the unsettled Labour backbenches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BCC<\/picture>
BCC director-general Shevaun Haviland: \u2018Our message is there can be no more taxes on businesses\u2019 <\/span> \u00a9 Charlie Bibby\/FT<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the growing threat of a leadership battle after just over a year in power, businesses have been alarmed that Labour risks jettisoning its promises of political stability. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham this week launched a thinly veiled bid to replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader, with his borrowing plans sparking warnings from the bond markets.<\/p>\n

Steve Rigby, chief executive of the technology-focused Rigby Group, one of the UK\u2019s largest private businesses, said: \u201cI\u2019m really concerned we are falling back into the Tory pattern of thinking that rotating prime ministers is the way to fix the issues in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that Labour could do for business is to get control of the party\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009because it has an impact on markets, the cost of private debt and our confidence. They are in power for the next four years and to change to Burnham would be completely inappropriate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn no business would you change chief executives in the same way the government rattles through business ministers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A major government reshuffle this month, where not only the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds but all junior ministers and special advisers in the department were replaced, had exasperated business chiefs and lobbyists.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are still baffled by the reshuffle,\u201d one public affairs executive said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief executives attending this year\u2019s business day on Monday include Simon Roberts of Sainsbury\u2019s, NatWest\u2019s Paul Thwaite, Centrica\u2019s Chris O\u2019Shea and Octopus Energy\u2019s Greg Jackson. The heads of the UK\u2019s biggest business lobby groups are all attending \u2014 only junior officials were sent to Reform UK\u2019s recent conference.<\/p>\n

One chief executive said he was going because \u201cthe government is trying to engage. But whether they will start listening and doing is another matter. We know all the headwinds\u201d.<\/p>\n

The day will start with a breakfast hosted by new business secretary Peter Kyle. They will also attend an interview with Starmer and have a seat at Chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019 speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The \u00a35,000 cost excluding VAT to attend \u2014 up from \u00a33,000 last year \u2014 has been criticised as \u201cludicrous\u201d by several business leaders. But the day now features roundtable discussions with ministers after last year\u2019s event was widely criticised for a lack of interaction, with delegates watching Reeves\u2019 speech via a screen in a windowless room.<\/p>\n

\"Business<\/picture>
Business leaders will have a seat at Chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019 speech<\/span> \u00a9 TOLGA AKMEN\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite gloom and frustration in retail and hospitality, other executives highlighted recent trade deals including with the US and India, and the approval of infrastructure projects including the Sizewell C nuclear project and Gatwick\u2019s second runway.<\/p>\n

Government aides have argued that City businesses are supportive of the chancellor\u2019s Leeds Reforms in financial services, announced in July, and inclusion of the sector in the government\u2019s Industrial Strategy. However, bankers have also been privately urging Reeves to not raise taxes. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re saying that if you want capital for lending to businesses and customers then don\u2019t squeeze us when we already pay higher rates than our international peers\u201d, one banking executive said. Barclays chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan warned this month against higher bank taxes and urged the government to curb spending.<\/p>\n

Many business leaders are hoping the chancellor uses her speech to signal that she demands the same efficiencies from government departments as companies are being forced to make.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea, the CEO of Centrica, which is investing alongside the government in Sizewell C, said that while the \u201cgovernment has not been perfect, I have been impressed with what I have seen\u201d, adding: \u201cMaybe with their majority they could have been more sure-footed and quicker on decisions. But businesses do not have to consider all the other factors and councils and departments that the government does\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said he was only concerned about leadership speculation \u201cif it causes the government to slow down. Otherwise it\u2019s just noise and doesn\u2019t make a difference to my business\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief executive, said businesses wanted to see \u201cdelivery, delivery and delivery on infrastructure\u201d and a signal to investors that \u201cthe UK is open for business\u201d.<\/p>\n

A Labour party spokesperson said: \u201cThe last Tory government trashed the economy and left Labour with the urgent task of repairing the public finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Labour government is pro-business and is laser focused on growth. Our efforts to stabilise the economy has seen five interest rate cuts, the fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of the year, and three historic trade deals secured \u2014 benefiting exporters and businesses across the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#businesses #warn #Labour #tax #raid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Businesses heading to Labour\u2019s Liverpool conference next week will urge the government to avoid another tax raid on companies at the next Budget and put party infighting to one side. After Labour\u2019s painful first year in government, marked by what companies said was a tax-grabbing Budget that betrayed its pro-business claims, executives are using the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1031,159,1032,89,803],"class_list":{"0":"post-2022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-businesses","9":"tag-labour","10":"tag-raid","11":"tag-tax","12":"tag-warn"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}