"It's a curious thing, this sense of waiting for a Budget. For most of us, it's an exercise in mild anxiety - a check to see whether wine duty is up again or whether we can still afford to fill the tank. But for business owners in London right now, the wait for Rachel Reeves' first full Budget on 26 November feels less like a nervous twitch and more like a death row countdown."
"And you can see his point. Reeves' Budget, which has been rescheduled, delayed, and wrapped in more mystery than a Bond villain's plot, is arriving under the kind of cloud that usually means someone's about to pay - and it'll probably be London. For weeks now, the rumours have been circulating through Westminster corridors like wasps around a picnic: a wealth tax here, a mansion tax there, a shake-up of partnerships, a business rates "super multiplier"."
"The problem is not that the government wants to raise money - everyone knows the country's finances look like a student overdraft in week one of term. The problem is who they're going to shake down to do it. Because when politicians say "we all need to contribute," what they often mean is "London can pay." Let's put this in perspective. London generates £618 billion a year in GDP - roughly 22 per cent of the UK total."
Business owners in London fear that the upcoming Budget will impose heavy taxes and measures that could undermine competitiveness and survival. Rumoured measures include a wealth tax, a mansion tax, partnership rule changes and a business rates "super multiplier", each idea perceived as falling disproportionately on the capital. London and the South East generate a large share of GDP, income tax and business rates, concentrating fiscal contributions in the region. The government's need for revenue amid strained public finances may prompt targeting of London, risking harm to hospitality, small businesses, investment and the capital's economic engine.
Read at Business Matters
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