Can the Chancellor REALLY promise no more tax rises? Fears Rachel Reeves will add another broken vow to Labour’s U-turns list with warnings spending plans are ‘front loaded’ and growth stalling_Nhy
Rachel Reeves‘ pledge not to hike taxes again has been derided by business and political opponents.
The Chancellor made the commitment in an appearance at the CBI conference last night, as she scrambles to quell a mounting revolt over her £40billion ‘tax-bomb’ Budget.
After pushing the burden on Brits to what is believed to be the highest level ever, Ms Reeves insisted she was ‘not going to have to come back for more’.
But furious firms said they were not ‘reassured’, amid warnings that the eye-watering raid on employer national insurance will cost jobs and drive up inflation.
Despite Ms Reeves saying the spending ‘envelope’ for departments is now fixed, the respected IFS think-tank has warned that the government’s plans are ‘front-loaded’ and look ‘implausibly tight’.
Meanwhile, in the latest grim economic sign this morning retailer Halfords has signalled it could raise repair garage prices after the Budget sent its wage bill soaring by around £23million.
Rachel Reeves made the tax commitment in an appearance at the CBI conference, as she tries to quell a mounting revolt over her £40billion ‘tax-bomb’ Budget
Despite Ms Reeves saying the spending ‘envelope’ for departments is now fixed, the respected IFS think-tank has warned that the government’s plans are ‘front-loaded’ and look ‘implausibly tight’
Tory MPs swiped that Brits have ‘heard this one before’ from Ms Reeves
Ms Reeves was received by the conference in stony silence as made her case from the stage.
The employers’ organisation said two-thirds of its members were slashing their recruitment plans after the Budget, with firms switching to ‘crisis containment’ or ‘damage limitation’ mode.
CBI chairman Rupert Soames said business had been treated as a ‘cash cow’ to be ‘milked’.
Salman Amin, chief executive of the firm behind McVitie’s biscuits, told the conference that the case for investment in the UK was ‘becoming harder to understand’.
Ms Reeves appeared taken aback by the scale of the business backlash to the Budget. She insisted she had heard ‘no credible alternative’ and claimed the Budget would provide the ‘stability’ needed for growth.
But the Chancellor appeared to acknowledge that the economy could not withstand another huge tax raid.
And she warned Cabinet ministers that they would have to ‘live within their means’ as she signalled there would be no further increases in public spending during the next four years.
John Roberts, AO chief executive, was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether he was reassured on the tax front.
‘I don’t think there’s very much that’s reassuring frankly at the minute,’ he said.
CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith was among those sending a tough message to Ms Reeves yesterday
‘I don’t think that it’s a job creation, and I don’t think that it’s a growth budget.
‘The truth will be when we see the government’s plans for what they plan do with the debt that they are saddling the country with.
‘The focus is on is the government going to spend that money wisely. I haven’t seen any indication of that from a business point of view.’
Tory MP Neil Shastri-Hurst said: ‘We have all heard this one before. At the General Election, Labour said they would not raise taxes.
‘Yet, they raised a record £40bn through tax rises in their first Budget. Labour’s anti-growth agenda means they will always be forced to turn to the taxpayer.’
