Rachel Reeves warned against piling on small business tax pain July 8, 2025 As Rachel Reeves circles new avenues to boost tax receipts, the Chancellor has faced a fresh warning to ease the pain for small businesses. Businesses have called for Reeves to reverse her Autumn Budget tax hikes and ease the burden for firms as they suffer the crunch of economic uncertainty. One in five small- and [...]
State pension could face insolvency by 2036 despite tax hikes July 6, 2025 Britain’s state pension could become financially unsustainable as early as 2036, despite recent increases in National Insurance contributions, according to new modelling by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). The think tank warned the Treasury is on course to spend more on welfare payouts than it receives in National Insurance receipts within just over a decade. [...]
Hospitality jobs slump as Reeves’ National Insurance hike bites July 6, 2025 The UK hospitality industry has shed 69,000 jobs since chancellor Rachel Reeves’s rise in employers’ national insurance contributions took effect – a stark reversal from the 18,000 roles created in the same period last year under the previous government. The figures, sourced from the Office for National Statistics, or ONS, mark the steepest peacetime job [...]
Business confidence hit by tax fears as Rachel Reeves’ headroom crumbles July 2, 2025 British business confidence has been hammered by Labour’s tax blows but fears remain heightened the government will return for more. A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed 56 per cent of firms were particularly concerned about their tax burden, which comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer failed to rule out further [...]
Superdrug shrugs off Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes to create over 600 jobs July 2, 2025 Superdrug has created more than 600 jobs despite tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves putting “pressure” on its margins. The high street chain upped its headcount from 13,845 to 14,479 in 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed. The increase comes after Superdrug also created more than 400 jobs in 2023. The [...]
Labour warned that hospitality ‘is being taxed out of existence’ July 2, 2025 The government faced serious warnings from MPs about the state of the hospitality sector during an afternoon debate in the Commons on July 1. Representatives from across the UK warned the government that high taxes were suffocating the sector – particularly for small businesses – putting ‘insurmountable burdens’ on businesses. “Hospitality is being taxed out [...]
Investment plans and hiring intentions plunge July 1, 2025 The latest Directors’ Economic Confidence Index from the IoD, which measures business leaders’ optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell in June as the impact of tax hikes filters down into bosses’ confidence levels. The index fell back to -53 in June 2025, having risen to -35 in May, with investment intentions taking one [...]
Bodycare: Reeves creating ‘too much risk and uncertainty’ for us to expand June 30, 2025 Bodycare has slowed down the pace of opening new stores across the UK as it blamed the government for creating “too much risk and uncertainty”. The Lancashire-headquartered retailer added that “the current climate of increased costs and legislation” is impacting its growth plans. Bodycare has also said that government policy on the winter fuel allowance [...]
Disposable income per head slumps despite economic growth June 30, 2025 The Office for National Statistics left growth figures for the UK economy at 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year unrevised on Monday. Official data from the ONS showed quarter one’s growth was led by a 1.3 per cent increase in the production sector. Services and construction jumped 0.7 per cent [...]
Labour’s welfare U-turn spikes fears of tax hikes June 27, 2025 The Labour government has confirmed its latest U-turn with a significant retreat on welfare reform dealing a crushing blow to Rachel Reeves’ waning fiscal headroom. The bill initially targeted restrictions on personal independence payments (PIP) and limited the sickness-related element of universal credit in a bid to shed £5bn from the welfare budget by 2030. Under [...]