Industry chiefs warn Reeves not to hit business after income tax U

The BCC's Shevaun Haviland has already demanded firms be spared at the Budget

The Chancellor must not rely on businesses to plug the gaping fiscal gap left by Thursday’s income tax U-turn, a group of industry body chiefs has warned a year after UK firms were forced to stomach much of the £40bn 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 , told City AM that the months of leaks and briefings were “taking a toll” on business owners, and that