London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

CBI president calls on government to 'stop hiking taxes' and to focus on boosting investment

CBI president calls on government to 'stop hiking taxes' and to focus on boosting investment

Lord Bilimoria's speech to the business group's annual conference comes days after a poorly-received address by Boris Johnson which saw the PM offer his thoughts about Peppa Pig World.

The president of the CBI has called on the prime minister to "stop hiking taxes and focus on boosting investment" in a rebuke over the increasing burdens being placed on business.

Lord Bilimoria will cite policies such as plans to increase corporation tax and national insurance in a speech to the business organisation's annual conference.

It follows a stumbling and poorly-received address by Boris Johnson to the same conference earlier this week in which the PM veered into ruminations about Peppa Pig World.

In his speech, Lord Bilimoria - founder of Cobra beer - will say the UK can "look forward to a more confident global future by championing collaboration and competitiveness" and praises Britain's leadership on the world stage.

He also highlights the strengths of Britain's services export industry, as an inward investment destination and in its universities but urges against complacency.

Lord Bilimoria pointed to "steps in the right direction" including a "super-deduction" tax break for investment but highlighted "big areas where we must improve", with Britain lagging well behind Germany and the US on research and development spending.

"The government have said they want a high-wage, high-growth, high-investment, high-productivity economy. Business agrees," said the CBI president.

"But right now, we are facing a high-tax economy."

Lord Bilimoria pointed to plans to hike corporation tax from 19% to 25% and the national insurance hike of 1.25 percentage points for workers plus 1.25 percentage points for employers.

Lord Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra beer


Meanwhile, business rates "still need fundamental reform" and the burden of property tax is four times higher than in Germany and three times above the average in the OECD, a club of global economies.

"Together, this all adds up to the UK having the highest tax burden in 70 years," Lord Bilimoria said.

"What we need is to stop hiking taxes and focus on boosting investment."

The speech comes two days after CBI director-general Tony Danker said that the UK "feels like a branch line economy" in many areas after years of neglect in left-behind parts of the country.

That language seemed to chime with the frustration of regional leaders after the government scaled back plans for HS2 and abandoned a new Manchester-Leeds line.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
UK Reaffirms Military Support for Ukraine Despite Russian Hybrid Warfare Threats
UK Technology Sector Expands Nearly 8 Percent as Digital Industry Outpaces Wider Economy
UK Drought Threatens Harvests Across England and Wales as Food Inflation Risks Persist
UK Government Pledges 442 Million Pounds to End Rough Sleeping by Christmas
UK Government Signals Willingness to Reconsider Digital Services Tax Amid US Tariff Threats
×