‘Relentless’ taxation must stop, warn Gail’s and Boden bosses

Tom HaynesSat, June 13, 2026 at 6:00 AM UTC

0

Luke Johnson, the chairman of Gail's, was one of the signatories on the letter, warning that Britain risked becoming an 'incubator economy' - Brighton Pictures/Shutterstock

Labour has been warned its "relentless" tax rises must stop, as the bosses of Gail's Bakery and Boden sound the alarm about policies driving entrepreneurs out of Britain.

More than 65 business leaders and MPs have signed a letter to The Telegraph, arguing that changes to National Insurance, capital gains tax and business reliefs amount to a "death by a thousand cuts" for founders.

They warned that Britain risked becoming an "incubator economy" that creates successful businesses only to lose them to countries with lower taxes and less red tape, effectively "training entrepreneurs for export".

The intervention, organised by founders' network Helm, comes as pressure mounts on Labour to address the growing burden facing hospitality and consumer businesses.

It follows a UKHospitality campaign, led by Tom Kerridge, that has attracted more than 200,000 signatures on a petition calling for VAT on pubs, bars and restaurants to be cut to 10pc.

The Telegraph's Save Our Pubs campaign has also highlighted mounting cost pressures on the sector as landlords grapple with rising taxes, wage bills and energy costs.

Signatories of Helm's letter include Luke Johnson, the chairman of Gail's Bakery, Johnnie Boden, founder of Boden, and Marcel Khan, the chief executive of Franco Manca and The Real Greek.

They are joined by 19 MPs, including shadow cabinet ministers Priti Patel, Chris Philp and Andrew Griffith.

Mr Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said on Wednesday that companies were being squeezed by recent policies which threatened jobs and growth.

Speaking at the launch of UKHospitality's campaign, he accused Labour of harming the employment prospects of young people through changes to employers' National Insurance and above-inflation increases in the minimum wage.

He told audience members that "no government that cared about the job prospects of a generation of young people" would have lowered the threshold for National Insurance in a way that brought more workers into scope.

Advertisement

Mr Griffith also warned that higher minimum wage rates for younger workers were "pricing people out of jobs" at a time when youth unemployment had passed 16pc.

In their letter, business leaders said founders spent years taking risks, sacrificing salaries and creating jobs, only to face an increasingly punitive tax regime when they succeed.

The signatories argued that, while Britain was "tightening the screws" on wealth creators, other countries were actively competing to attract them.

The US offers zero tax on the first $10m (£7.5m) of a qualifying company sale, while countries including Cyprus, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore have introduced lower-tax regimes and business-friendly policies aimed at entrepreneurs.

Andreas Adamides, Helm's chief executive, said: "Britain's founders take the risks, forgo the salaries and create the jobs that power our economy. Yet the tax system is telling them to leave.

"The relentless creep of taxes on those who scale businesses is corrosive, and it sends exactly the wrong signal to the people we most need to back."

In its first two Budgets, Labour increased employers' National Insurance contributions, raised the national living wage and cut Covid-era business rates relief. It has left many pubs, restaurants and retailers facing sharply higher operating costs.

It threatens to prove a flash point in a growing row within Labour before a potential leadership contest.

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, backed The Telegraph's Save Our Pubs campaign last week and pledged to cut business rates for pubs by a further 20pc if he became prime minister.

Mr Burnham, who is expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership if he wins the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, said ministers needed to listen more closely to small businesses, and admitted that Labour had "got this wrong in Government".

He told The Telegraph that many businesses were operating "close to the edge of viability".

A government spokesman said: "We have the right economic plan. We're backing hospitality by reforming business rates, including a £4.3bn support package to limit bills rises, capping corporation tax at 25pc, cutting red tape and taking action on the cost of living to keep footfall strong."

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Money”