Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes will cost me £1m – Hooch tycoon March 31, 2025 The founder of the alcoholic drinks empire behind the likes of Hooch and VK has warned the tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves will cost him an extra £1m. Steve Perez, the boss of Derbyshire-headquartered Global Brands, added that the Chancellor has “stacked the odds” against businesses like his and that he has “no choice” [...]
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre empire braced for Reeves’ tax hike March 18, 2025 Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre empire has warned it is bracing for the “notable impact” the hike in employer’s National Insurance contributions (NICs) when it comes into force next month. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget in October 2024 that NICs would rise by 1.2 per cent from April to 15 per cent in [...]
Spring Statement 2025: Rachel Reeves should be courageous and favour economics over ideology, says Interactive Investor boss March 3, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to be “quite courageous” and not “allow ideology to get in the way of economics” when she delivers her Spring Statement on 26 March, the chief executive of Interactive Investor has said. Richard Wilson, speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, added that the government’s growth agenda [...]
Checkatrade CEO: ‘My plan to get Britain growing again’ February 20, 2025 The chief executive of Checkatrade has revealed what he would like the government to change in order to boost British businesses and get the country growing again. Speaking during an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered interview series, Jambu Palaniappan argued Labour should reform the rules around planning permission to made it easier for [...]
Hospitality sector still reeling from Labour’s Budget February 5, 2025 The high drama of a global trade war competes for coverage with Keir Starmer’s EU reset, impending interest rate decisions and Nigel Farage’s lead in the opinion polls. News moves fast, and the spotlight moves on. For their part, politicians are always among the most eager to ‘draw a line under it’ and move on; [...]
Reeves employer NIC tax plans raise wind-up fears for football clubs January 7, 2025 A total of 24 professional football clubs are in arrears to HMRC over PAYE debt, with experts fearing that number could rise due to Rachel Reeves’s budget. Clubs including Championship side Reading and National League Southend United are among those who received winding-up petitions from HMRC in 2024. But business experts have warned that changes [...]
Firms hiring low-wage workers set for tax bill hike, CPS think tank warns January 3, 2025 The cost of employing low-wage workers is set to hit a record high in 2025, according to new analysis. Businesses employing low-wage workers will see their tax bills soar, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has warned, after research found the rise in employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) led to a 60 per cent tax [...]
‘Losing faith’: Just one in four bosses has confidence in government December 2, 2024 Just one in four bosses has confidence in the government to deliver economic growth, in a sign firms are “losing faith” in ministers’ strategy. A London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) snap poll found 81 per cent of business leaders said they were not confident the government will address firms’ concerns. While 77 per [...]
UK business leader confidence nosedives towards pandemic lows December 1, 2024 Confidence among business leaders in the prospects for the UK economy nosedived towards levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic during November, as fears over rising national insurance bills plague firms. The Institute of Director’s monthly Economic Confidence index fell to -65 in November, down from -52 during October in its fourth consecutive monthly fall. [...]
Employer national insurance raid could lead to 130,000 jobs being slashed November 28, 2024 Analysis from Bloomberg Economics suggests that up to 130,000 jobs could be lost if firms responded to the tax hike primarily by cutting employment.