CBI urges new chancellor John Healey to ban any further business tax hikes

The Confederation of British Industry appealed to Chancellor John Healey to place a firm limit on any future tax increases that could further burden companies. Its deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja highlighted that firms are already feeling the strain of higher employer national insurance, minimum wage hikes, botched business-rates reform and expanded workers’ rights, much of which originated under former chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The CBI’s latest survey indicates businesses expect activity to fall in the three months to December, extending a downturn that began after Reeves’s 2024 budget. Paleja urged Healey to remove green levies from energy bills, reduce NICs and set a clear path for business-rates reform to restore confidence. He warned that lingering fiscal pressures and uncertainty ahead of the upcoming budget are dampening investment and hiring plans. The call comes as energy and fuel costs rise following global oil price spikes linked to Donald Trump’s Iran conflict, and the Bank of England is expected to raise rates soon.