The London Chamber of Commerce has urged the Government to reverse the employers’ National Insurance increase, claiming it contributed to a fall of 167,000 employee jobs between October 2024 and April 2025. The rise, introduced by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves in April 2025, increased the rate from 13.8% to 15% and lowered the threshold at which employers begin paying contributions. The Chamber said the changes had raised hiring costs and disproportionately affected entry-level and part-time roles. Its polling found 74% of business leaders believed reversing the increase would have a positive impact, while 56% would be more likely to invest. As part of its Budget submissions to Government, the Chamber said the rise “functioned as a direct tax on employment, levied not on profit but on the act of hiring itself.” The Chamber has also called for employers to be exempt from National Insurance when hiring under-25s who had been out of education, employment or training for at least a year.

Finance industry leaders have urged John Healey not to raise taxes on banks in the forthcoming Budget, warning that higher charges could drive investment, businesses and skilled workers out of the UK. In a letter to the Chancellor, industry bodies including UK Finance, TheCityUK and the Confederation of British Industry have argued that additional taxes could undermine the sector’s competitiveness, reduce lending to households and businesses, and ultimately weaken economic growth. They are urging the Government to freeze the bank levy and surcharge, warning that higher taxes “risk undermining the growth.”

The Treasury is exploring a tax break to encourage successful entrepreneurs to reinvest their capital gains into new ventures. Senior officials are considering reducing or deferring capital gains tax for founders who reinvest. Research suggests this relief could generate £43m annually for the Treasury by fostering job creation and retaining capital in the UK. Michael Moore, CEO of UK Private Capital, notes that countries with high unicorn concentrations already implement similar policies.

Chancellor John Healey has reportedly ruled out a potential warehouse tax in the upcoming Budget. This comes after retail bosses expressed concerns that increased taxes could harm struggling high street businesses. M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has criticised previous Budgets, arguing that the Chancellor needed to “start unravelling the mistakes” made by his predecessor, while John Lewis chairman Jason Tarry warned that additional costs for large stores would undermine efforts to support pubs and music venues. Economist Lord Jim O’Neill has urged the Chancellor to reject further wealth taxes and business levies, while Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that imprudent fiscal decisions could risk market turmoil.

City leaders have warned Chancellor John Healey that the UK risks becoming an “incubator nation,” developing promising start-ups only to lose them to overseas markets because of London’s weak stock market. The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, chaired by London Stock Exchange chief executive Dame Julia Hoggett, has urged the Chancellor to introduce tax incentives to revive the exchange. The taskforce proposes abolishing stamp duty for pension funds, offering inheritance tax relief, and introducing a 10% tax credit on dividends to mobilise £161bn of capital by 2042. The warning comes amid a shortage of major London IPOs and at least £70bn in takeover bids for UK-listed companies this year.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that Chancellor John Healey faces a £35bn choice between raising taxes or cutting public spending to protect public services and increase defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030/31. Inflation could erode departmental budgets despite an estimated £20bn of fiscal headroom, requiring an extra £25bn annually to maintain services and £11bn more for defence. The IFS said leaving spending plans unchanged would mean real-terms cuts, while raising £35bn through taxation could require increasing income tax or VAT rates by three percentage points, breaching Labour’s manifesto commitments.

Stuart Machin, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, has urged Chancellor John Healey to reverse “the mistakes of the last two Budgets.” Arguing that previous Budgets were “disasters” and “a crushing disappointment for customers, colleagues and businesses,” he said: “Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations instead.” Mr Machin, who has criticised the increase in employer National Insurance contributions and warned of the potential impact of new rights for workers, is calling for measures to stimulate growth and alleviate the burden of rising taxes on businesses. The Chancellor, he says, must “restore hope” and “get Britain growing by taking the handcuffs off business and putting money back in people’s pockets.”

Andy Burnham has announced plans to limit non-compete clauses in employment contracts, arguing that they hinder innovation and job mobility. The Prime Minister said such clauses often leave workers unpaid after leaving jobs and restrict firms from hiring talent. The Government is considering various restrictions, including a total ban or limits based on salary. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has warned against “sweeping” changes to non-compete rules, saying that they play a “vital role” in protecting commercially sensitive information and client relationships.

Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph says the UK economy faces significant challenges as borrowing costs surge. He says soaring government bond yields threaten to hit the wider economy through higher mortgage rates, reduced bank lending and rising corporate borrowing costs. UK 30-year gilt yields, he notes, have exceeded 6%, while the Chancellor’s fiscal headroom has reportedly shrunk by £11bn, potentially prompting tax rises and spending cuts. Mr Lynn warns that falling investment, business failures and weaker tax revenues could create a “vicious cycle” of higher borrowing costs and economic decline.

The UK economy is forecast to have contracted in August after stronger-than-expected growth in June and July, with economists predicting a decline of between 0.1% and 0.3%. The slowdown is expected to reflect weaker output across sectors including professional services and administration. Manufacturing is also expected to have stagnated. Robert Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, predicts that official data will reveal a 0.3% decline in August. Thomas Pugh, chief economist at RSM UK, predicts a decline of 0.1% for August but says this should not “obscure the broader trend of resilience,” forecasting growth of between 0.4% and 0.5% for Q3.

Lucy Rigby, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has indicated that the Government is exploring further reforms to enhance capital market competitiveness. She emphasised the need for continued efforts to improve capital access, adding that the Government is “continually looking for ways that we can ensure we’re being as competitive as possible.” This comes after fintech industry body Innovate Finance – whose members include Revolut, Monzo and Zilch – called for stamp duty to be abolished amid a decline in British ownership of UK companies. Meanwhile, challenger banks including Shawbrook and Aldemore are calling on ministers to increase the banking surcharge threshold from £100m to £500m. Ms Rigby said: “Decisions on all forms of tax are for the Chancellor and he’ll make them in the context of the Budget.”

Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report shows that while UK workers want to retire at 62, they now expect to work until they are nearly 68.