Business confidence at lowest level since Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, new survey shows
Share:
It comes as a group of economists has warned that the Treasury is likely to raise taxes even further this year. Business confidence has slipped to its lowest level since the aftermath of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget in Autumn 2022, a new survey has revealed.
![[Rachel Reeves poses outside 11 Downing Street before becoming the first woman to deliver a Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer (Lucy North/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/01/10/452c9fb6a81c257ac004af4171823117Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMzMzM0ODQw-2.78023121.jpg)
It comes as a group of economists has warned that the Treasury is likely to raise taxes even further this year, despite record tax hikes at the government’s first Budget being seen to have contributed to the gloomy economic outlook. According to the British Chambers of Commerce quarterly economic survey, just 20 per cent of businesses have increased investment in the past three months, while 24 per cent have decreased.
Following the chancellor’s autumn statement, which saw Rachel Reeves unveil a record £40bn worth of tax rises, 63 per cent of firms cited it as a worry - the highest level on record. Business confidence has declined significantly with just 49 per cent of companies expecting their turnover to increase over the next twelve months, compared with 56 per cent in the third economic quarter of 2024.
The latest figure is the lowest level since Ms Truss sparked gilt market freefall and a run on sterling after introducing unfunded tax cuts in her 2022 mini-Budget. The survey also showed that business conditions are weak, with only 24 per cent of firms reporting increased cashflow and 30 per cent a decrease.
