Business leaders turn against Labour after shocking tax changes
UK companies express disappointment with Labour governments new business policies and tax increases. What started as a promising relationship between Labour and corporations now shows signs of falling apart
Three years back Boris Johnson gave a weird CBI speech about Peppa Pig that made business-people shake their heads (and left many thinking Labour might be better)
The mood at this years CBI meet-up is quite different: business folks who backed Labour are now super-mad about the new tax rules. Rachel Reeves plans to fix things at the London gathering but its not looking good
The budget hit companies hard with a 25-billion-pound tax increase on worker payments; many bosses feel double-crossed. One big-time store boss said: “all that growth-talk disappeared cause theres nothing really there“
The bright hopes of last summer have turned to perplexity then disappointment and now dismay
Early this year things looked way better - Reeves got special treatment at Davos sitting with world-leaders; everyone wanted to chat with Britainʼs maybe-first lady-chancellor. Now the honey-moons over
The CBIʼs boss Rain Newton-Smith will hit hard at the meet-up: businesses got caught off-guard and now theyre doing damage-control. Six-in-ten companies might cut back on hiring due to new rules that drop the salary limit to 5k
- Companies face 7bn in extra costs
- Job cuts seem likely now
- Price increases coming soon
- Work-rights changes could cost 5bn yearly
High-street chiefs are getting ready to face-off with ministers about these costs. After switching from the Tories (who they thought werent serious enough) to Labour many business-people are wondering where all that promised grown-up thinking went
