'Don't ask business to plug black hole'

THE Chancellor must not rely on businesses to plug the gaping fiscal gap left by Thursday’s income tax U-turn.

- ALI LYON

That is the warning from a group of industry body chiefs, a year after UK firms were forced to stomach much of the £40 billion of tax hikes at Labour’s maiden Budget.

In an unusual combined intervention, bosses from five of the UK’s largest business lobby groups told Rachel Reeves that any attempt to plug the widening fiscal shortfall with levies on business would be the “wrong choice” and see rock-bottom business confidence levels plumb new depths.

Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that the months of leaks and briefing were “taking a toll” on business owners, and that the group's members were “not the answer to a revenue shortfall”.