Labour the Party of Growth 🤣25 Nov 2024 11:52
Almost two thirds of companies plan to hire fewer people as a result of the Budget as Rachel Reeves is accused of forcing employers into “damage control” mode.
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) chief executive will warn on Monday that “tax rises like this must never again simply be done to business” at the lobby group’s annual conference in London which the Chancellor is expected to attend.
A poll of 266 business leaders by the CBI underlines the extent to which workers will be hit by employer tax rises, with 62pc saying they will respond by slashing hiring plans. Almost half said they will be forced to lay off staff, while 46pc are looking to delay pay rises for their workforce.
The CBI’s polling results, covering the week to Nov 17, have emerged as Ms Reeves prepares to mend relations with bosses at the CBI’s conference on Monday as a backlash over her £40bn tax-rising Budget grows.
However, her efforts could be thwarted by a speech by Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief executive, which will reflect the souring of relations between Whitehall and corporate Britain. She will say that the Chancellor’s raid on employers’ National Insurance “caught us all off guard”.
Ms Newton-Smith will sound a warning shot to the Government arguing that when you “hit profits, you hit competitiveness, you hit investment, you hit growth”.
She will add that profit is “not a dirty word” and is not just “extra money for companies to stuff in a pillowcase”, but for investment.
Almost 60pc of businesses surveyed by the CBI earlier this month said they disagreed with the statement that the Budget will increase the attractiveness of the UK as a place to invest.
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