‘Smoke and mirrors’: Why high street still faces a £250m tax hike under Healey Retail Andy Burnham propelled himself to Downing Street by pledging a revival of Britain’s struggling high streets. Felix Armstrong asks: has John Healey delivered it? Among the sectors clamouring for John Healey’s attention ahead of his maiden Budget, none were louder than those calling for the government to revitalise Britain’s ailing high street retailers. Shuttered shops, [...]
Healey funds high street tax cuts with raid on gambling firms and online sellers Retail The government will fund tax breaks for small high street shops by hiking taxes on gambling and cracking down on online sellers, John Healey said. In his first Budget, the Chancellor said he will slash taxes on the high street by raising the threshold at which small firms start paying business rates from £12,000 to [...]
John Healey is a beer man. Does this spell good news for pubs? Hospitality Geoffrey Howe sipped a gin and tonic, Nigel Lawson quaffed a wine spritzer, while George Osborne and Gordon Brown stuck to mineral water. Ahead of his first Budget, one of the many decisions weighing on Chancellor John Healey’s mind will be whether to get a little squiffy at the despatch box. If he does, it [...]
Healey warned ‘the dam is breaking’ on shop price inflation October 27, 2026 The Chancellor has been warned that the “dam is starting to break” on surging shop price inflation, which retailers had kept at bay with heavy discounting. Shop prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to October, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium, ahead of September’s 1.4 per cent and the [...]
Warehouse tax ‘dropped over fears of Trump trade war’ October 21, 2026 Andy Burnham’s plans for a so-called ‘warehouse tax’ were dropped over fears a raid on US firms like Amazon could spark a trade war with Donald Trump, a top industry body has claimed. The Prime Minister, during his campaign to become Makerfield MP, pledged to hike business rates on “out of town” warehouses to fund [...]
Greene King boss: Pub industry ‘reaching breaking point’ October 20, 2026 The finance boss of Greene King has warned that soaring taxes and employment costs have pushed the UK’s hospitality industry to “breaking point”. Jonathan Fearn, finance chief of the privately-owned pub chain, said decisions taken by the Labour government have “created a cocktail of costs, which have made it ever harder for a pub to [...]
West End boss urges Healey to curb ‘eye-watering’ business rates October 20, 2026 The West End’s top business chief has urged John Healey to avoid adding to high street firms’ “eye-watering” business rates bills. Writing in City AM, New West End Company chief executive Dee Corsi said the Chancellor must listen to retailers and hospitality businesses who say they “cannot absorb” any more tax hikes. The industry body, [...]
‘Disaster’: Advisers raise the alarm on family business tax raid October 19, 2026 John Healey’s potential tax raid on family businesses could make handing down companies to the next generation a “disaster” and damage the economy, advisers have warned. The Chancellor is reportedly considering proposals to levy income tax when business owners hand down to their children, potentially almost doubling the bill. Under current rules, transfers can be [...]
City of London urged against business rates hikes to cover £70m shortfall October 19, 2026 The City of London Corporation has been warned that hiking business rates to cover its £70m budget shortfall would undermine the Square Mile’s global “competitiveness”. The local authority is weighing up whether to increase the business rates multiplier it charges businesses in the Square Mile, but a member of its finance committee has warned that [...]
Healey plans £1bn e-commerce crackdown to fund retail tax breaks October 14, 2026 John Healey is preparing to announce a £1bn tax crackdown on online marketplaces like Amazon and Temu to fund tax cuts for high street shops. At the Budget later this month, the Chancellor is expected to make e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Ebay and Temu responsible for collecting tax owed by the sellers using their site, [...]