Record £40 billion tax increases hit hardest on corporate Britain – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

We welcome the emphasis on long term planning and the confirmation of the corporate tax road map from the Chancellor – too much recent government thinking has been for the here and now and short-term political goals.

It’s been a long wait for Reeves and her team since the general election. At over 100 days it is apparently the longest gap ever and there will be a huge relief from our clients that finally the speculation about the Budget is over.

Most businesses accept that something had to be done – they know there is a problem that needs to be fixed with our finances. And as tax advisers we see why the NIC increase for business was chosen to do much of the heavy lifting in terms of revenue raising. It’s easy to introduce and the current weakness of any political opposition to the Government means it will probably be accepted across the country as the least worst option.

Some of the worst scare stories around CGT and IHT have been watered down in some clever expectation management but there are still many wealth creators who will feel economic pain. Without doubt all of us hope that this is a one-off event.

But at a time when the economy needs growth and the government keeps talking about how to achieve growth via investment it seems short sighted to hammer the very people who are going to provide that growth – entrepreneurs and business.

Hitting individuals with the funds to invest, as well as a triple whammy for business of an increase in NICs, a rise in the minimum wage and no expectation of a cut in CT is not creating an environment to attract a wave of investment into the UK which the economy so keenly needs.

Seeking stability is commendable but the lacklustre economy desperately needs pro active rather than reactive action from the government to boldly pursue growth. An example could be instead of saying she will reduce CT rates if UK competitiveness is damaged (by which time it will already have been damaged) to as an alternative actively advise of reductions in the CT rate in the future and an ambition to reach a much lower rate when conditions allow.

Will the corporate world give Reeves the benefit of the doubt? Come back next Halloween.