Business leader warns of 'struggle' for Peterborough employers after Budget tax rises

​Concerns have been voiced that companies in Peterborough will struggle to cope with new tax increases imposed in the Budget. ​

The alarm has been sounded by the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce which warns that a rise in National Insurance will only serve to undermine ambitions to increase the growth of employers in the city and across the county.

The alarm has been sounded by Charlotte Horobin, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, who said: “We expect many small and medium sized enterprises will struggle with the extra burden of taxation.

She said: “There are welcome investments in health, education and infrastructure announced in the Budget although we await detail on many of them.

"But the costs of these investments will largely be borne by business, so this is a tough Budget for employers.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget on October 30 that she intended to raise the rate of employer's National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent from April next year.

In addition, the threshold at which employers start paying NICs will fall from £9,100 to £5,000 per year from next April.

Ms Horobin said the increase in employer NICs plus a 6.7 percent increase in the National Living Wage and the impact of the Employment Rights Bill previously announced will together add significant costs to business and risk undermining the growth

”This is a high-risk Budget which we hope will pay off in time, even if there is short-term pain.”

Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said: “Overall this was a balanced budget that was pro-worker and pro-business.

"Taken together, the measures increase support available for working people and inject investment for the NHS and to rebuild public services.

He added: “Our economic inheritance meant there were no easy choices.”