#uk-budget

#uk-budget

The chancellor is in active discussions over breaking one of her party's main manifesto pledges as she looks for ways to clear an estimated shortfall of more than 30bn, according to three sources close to the budget process. Some advisers in the Treasury and No 10 believe that raising income tax might be the only way to make sure she raises enough money never to have to come back for tax rises again in this parliament.

"It [tax] doesn't even need to go up to 50%. If it went up to anywhere like 40% or even 35% there is no profit in the business. We would have to close it down. I'm talking job losses. We're talking probably 7,500,"

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Barclays chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan has issued a stark warning to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, urging her not to introduce new levies that would "stifle competition and growth" in Britain's financial sector. Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Venkatakrishnan said taxing banks and investors more heavily risked "taxing growth out of existence," just weeks before Reeves unveils her first Budget. His remarks come amid speculation that the Chancellor could raise as much as £50 billion in extra taxes to plug a hole in the public finances.

Small businesses are bracing for a major shake-up after it emerged the Treasury is considering slashing the VAT registration threshold from £90,000 to just £30,000. The move, reportedly under review ahead of the November 26 Budget, would pull tens of thousands of sole traders and small firms into the VAT system for the first time, forcing them to charge customers more and deal with additional red tape.

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to overhaul the UK's tax system after the Resolution Foundation urged her to cut employee national insurance contributions by 2p and offset it with an equivalent rise in income tax. The thinktank, which has close ties to senior Labour ministers, said the measure could raise an additional £6bn a year by spreading the tax burden across a wider pool of taxpayers, including pensioners, landlords and the self-employed.

Keir Starmer is tightening his grip on economic policy by beefing up a committee that will help shape the 26 November budget. Pensions minister Torsten Bell and Starmer's new chief economic adviser, Minouche Shafik, will co-chair the budget board, that will meet weekly to discuss the details of the statement. Government sources said the meetings were aimed at ensuring No 10 and No 11 were aligned and that there was not a repeat of the backlash from businesses that followed Rachel Reeves's maiden budget.