Sunak promises to ‘reduce and reform’ business taxes 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised to ‘reduce and reform’ business taxes to boost investment, staff training and innovation, but warned that easing the cost-of-living crisis for families will not be easy.

Speaking at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) dinner on Wednesday, he has reiterated a promise made in March to cut business taxes later this year and encourage employers to do their bit to ease the economic pain for households by keeping up investment and innovation spending.

However, a specific reference to the tax cut at the Autumn Budget, contained in the extracts of his speech released in advance, has been removed as he delivered the speech.

“We need you to invest more, train more, and innovate more. And as I’ve said previously, our firm plan is to reduce and reform your taxes to encourage you to do all those things,” he said.

British inflation surged last month to its highest annual rate since 1982, with consumer price inflation hitting 9 per cent in April, pressuring Sunak to do more to help those struggling to pay rising food, fuel and energy bills.

“Our role in government is to cut costs for families. I cannot pretend this will be easy,” Sunak said. “There is no measure any government could take, no law we could pass, that can make these global forces disappear overnight. The next few months will be tough.”

Sunak has previously said he wants to wait to see the extent of a further rise in regulated domestic power tariffs in the autumn before deciding on how much more support households need.

CBI Director-General Tony Danker welcomed Sunak’s willingness to help households and provide incentives for business investment but said the need for support was immediate.

“There’s a window now where firms are deciding whether to stick or twist on their spending plans, so not everything can wait until autumn,” he said. “Immediate delivery of existing commitments can help protect business confidence.”