CBI urges Healey to cut taxes and energy bills in Budget

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 10:20 · Archive

The Confederation of British Industry has urged the Chancellor to reduce employment taxes and energy bills in his October 28 Budget.

The Confederation of British Industry has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut employment taxes and energy bills in his first Budget on 28 October, warning that further tax rises risk damaging investment and jobs. The lobby group called for a £1,000 increase in the National Insurance threshold for employers, from £5,000 to £6,000, to encourage hiring of young workers. It also urged the Treasury to remove policy costs from business electricity bills, reform business rates and simplify the tax system.

CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith warned that piling further costs onto companies would undermine growth ambitions. 'Business does not need another reason to wait – it needs a reason to invest,' she said. 'This Budget should cut the costs holding firms back, simplify the tax system and make it easier to get investment moving'.

The intervention comes after executives from Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and other major retailers met Healey to press for relief from rising employment costs. Businesses have blamed the previous government's decision to lower the employer National Insurance threshold from £9,100 to £5,000 for making entry-level and part-time workers more expensive to hire.

How it is being reported

• Mansion tax: what it means for Londoners and how it will work as John Healey prepares to deliver BudgetChancellor John Healey will deliver his first Budget on October 28Evening Standard · 15 Oct, 10:04
• Healey told to cut employment taxes and energy bills to boost businessBritain’s biggest business lobby group has urged John Healey to cut employment taxes and energy bills in his first Budget, warning that further tax rises risk choking off investment and jobs. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called on the Chancellor to give firms “breathing space” at the Budget on 28 October, as businesses grapple [...]City AM · 15 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Confederation of British Industry · John Healey · Rain Newton-Smith · Tesco · Marks & Spencer · Sainsbury's

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