Shadow chancellor urges Labour to ban any new business taxes in upcoming Budget
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will press Labour to rule out further business tax hikes at the October Budget and call for a review of small-business tax burdens.
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is set to deliver his inaugural major address, urging Labour to pledge that the upcoming Budget will not introduce additional taxes on businesses. Speaking at Capital City College Group in London, he will call on Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to simplify the tax regime and halt the expansion of Making Tax Digital for income-tax returns. Griffith will unveil a review, chaired by Conservative peer Lord Mackinlay and former Centre for Policy Studies director Robert Colvile, slated to report in December on the tax load borne by small firms and the self-employed, including the impact of IR35 rules.
He argues that one outlet system imposes billions of pounds in compliance costs, a claim contested by the National Audit Office. The proposal has drawn criticism from Reform UK’s shadow chancellor Robert Jenrick, who questions Griffith’s credibility and calls for broader tax reforms. Meanwhile, hospitality groups and unions are lobbying for lower VAT rates and higher taxes on large tech firms and banks.
Why it matters
The debate could shape tax policy for small businesses and influence the fiscal direction of the upcoming Budget.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Address Commons on First Day Back
- Sep 3 Burnham announced a plan to extend devolution to all parts of England and to increase public control of utilities.
- Sep 3 During the opening of Reform UK's three-day conference in Birmingham, deputy leader Richard Tice warned against Chinese buses and goods, urging support for British manufacturing. Yet the nearby merchandise stall offered caps, hoodies and water bottles that were produced in China alongside items from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Prices ranged from £5 for pins to £45 for hoodies, with a UK-made Nigel Farage tea towel costing £20. The speech also highlighted the party’s broader business agenda and its leader Nigel Farage’s recent controversies.
- Sep 4 Bond yields surged to their fastest rise since the 2022 mini‑budget, wiping out £12 billion of fiscal headroom.
- Sep 6 Burnham pledged to transfer failing utilities into public ownership.
- Sep 6 John Healey will launch a £150 million fund aimed at supporting university spin-outs and other high-growth companies across northern England.
- Sep 6 West Midlands Police have issued a call for the protester to come forward to assist their inquiry.
- Sep 7 Healey also pledged steps to curb borrowing costs, energy bills, regulation and labour expenses on UK businesses.
- Sep 9 Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he will not trim social security programmes to meet the 3 % of GDP defence spending goal and gave no timetable for reaching it.
- Sep 9 Burnham publicly rejected the welfare‑cut funding plan.
- Sep 13 Burnham faced his first Prime Minister's Questions where opposition members pressed him on funding for his agenda.
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