Businesses ask just one thing from Rachel Reeves
The Chancellor is about to unveil her spending review. We know that business will welcome some of Rachel Reeves 's decisions – £113bn of capital investment and £86bn of research and development spending are not to be sniffed at.
The British Chambers of Commerce represents 50,000 companies and I have already congratulated the Government on these investments. These are real, tangible steps that will help to drive growth throughout the economy.
Importantly, those investments represent spades in the ground and projects that will benefit not just their local areas, but the entire country.
The Government committing £14.2bn to the Sizewell C nuclear power station is a perfect example, and will help to create thousands of new jobs.
But our members are clear, there is more to be done if the Government is to deliver an improvement in growth.
Whether it's ever-increasing costs, a difficult labour market or crippling barriers to trade, British companies face serious challenges. Our latest research shows that less than half of businesses predict their turnover will grow this year.
Just think about that. It means most businesses, when asked, believe that at best they will stand still. And standing still, with inflation pushing up costs, in reality means falling further and further behind.
The cost of doing business has never been higher. From energy prices to National Insurance, companies are being hamstrung by factors outside their control.
Previously profitable companies are stuck treading water and two in every three businesses say that tax is their biggest concern.
On top of that, the Government is pushing ahead with its employment reforms. By its own measure, this will be another £5bn cost to business – and that's just the early estimate.
Make no mistake, this continual piling up of costs cannot continue. And while the spending review is important, it's the Budget that fills business with dread.
Another round of revenue-raising off the backs of Britain's entrepreneurs could put thousands of firms under. For many, there is nothing more to give.
That's why we have one simple ask of the Government: no new taxes on business.
Businesses can't afford it. The country can't afford it. Any additional pressure would damage what the Government says is its main priority: growth.
Private enterprise is the real engine at the heart of our economy. It's our responsibility to make sure it has what it needs to succeed.
Every week, I see first-hand the huge impact cost pressures are having on companies, particularly the National Insurance increase. From a manufacturer in the East Midlands being forced to make redundancies, to a logistics company in Aberdeen having to scale back its investment in projects.
Companies are being buried under an avalanche of costs and we need the Government to publish a roadmap for how it will reduce the tax burden on businesses over time.
No new taxes has to be the starting point. But to drive growth in the years ahead, the Government needs to lower cost pressures on companies.
Despite the challenges, the pain and the pressures business owners face, what strikes me when I speak to founders and chief executives is how optimistic they remain. They still believe in themselves, and they still believe in Brand Britain.
They don't want handouts from the Government but they do need ministers to look again at how they can relieve some of the cost pressures over which they have influence.
If the Government gets that right, the rewards will be immense. Businesses just need to be given more opportunity. If they are given a chance, then they will seize it.
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