04 June 2026
The CBI’s Chief Executive, Rain Newton-Smith, will today (Thursday 4th June) tell business leaders and politicians that the UK has the “makings of a true growth story,” but that a record high business tax burden is putting growth, jobs and investment at risk.
Citing new CBI data on the overall business tax contribution, she will make the point that rising costs on firms have an impact across the wider economy, saying: "you cannot fix the cost of living without fixing the cost of doing business. And the cost of doing business – is reaching a tipping point.”
Speaking at the organisation’s National Business Dinner in London, Newton-Smith will warn that the UK economy has reached a critical juncture, with cost pressures mounting and political uncertainty undermining investor confidence.
She will say that a background of rising global and domestic volatility makes it essential to “get out of politics mode and into action mode,” warning that “businesses cannot afford a summer of stagnation while the politics play out.”
Rejecting the idea that the UK is trapped “in some kind of doom spiral,” Newton-Smith will urge action on confidence, competitiveness and consistency as key to resetting the country’s growth trajectory:
- With confidence fragile, further business tax rises should be avoided. While global instability is unavoidable, adding to pressures at home is not. Growth won’t come from treating firms as an easy revenue source.
- Stronger action is needed on high electricity costs. Current bill structures undermine competitiveness, despite progress on renewables and targeted support.
- Consistency and policy stability must go hand-in-hand with faster delivery. That means welcoming the continued commitment to fiscal discipline and capital spending while urging quicker progress on industrial strategy, infrastructure, regulation and EU alignment.
On the UK’s fundamental economic strengths, Newton-Smith will say:
“We’ve all heard this idea going round – that we’re in some kind of doom spiral. I just don’t buy that.
“I see our strengths first-hand – in your businesses. This country is second in Europe for foreign investment. We are second in the world for investability.
“We have deep advantages that money can’t buy – earned over hundreds of years. An open economy. The rule of law. World-beating universities.
“We have the makings of a true growth story."
Speaking about domestic uncertainty and the impact on business confidence, she will say:
“It feels like our whole economy is holding its breath. And what a moment like this calls for from government – is political leadership and stability. Not theatrics. Not more turbulence.
“Every day businesses tell me the same thing. This political uncertainty is hitting confidence. It’s hitting investment.
“The challenges in our economy won’t fix themselves while politicians look inwards. Big decisions need taking. The world is moving fast – it will not wait. We need a government that is getting on with governing.
“Business cannot afford a summer of stagnation while the politics play out. There is a real, material cost to what’s happening in Westminster now.
“The MPs in government were elected to lead. And leadership means looking outwards not inwards.
“This government came to power promising change. The moment for that change is now, not once the politics settles. Now. We need you to govern like this is your moment.”
Reflecting on the economic outlook and global shocks, Newton-Smith will say:
“This month marks ten years since the Brexit vote. Sold as a step forward for sovereignty and free trade, in reality it has dragged us backwards.
“And since then, the shocks have kept coming. The hit from Brexit – reducing our GDP by as much as 8 per cent. The pandemic and the lockdowns. The energy crisis from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Geopolitical turbulence and tariffs.
“Yet now here we are, facing another threat. A conflict in the Middle East, centred around one of the world’s most important energy and shipping corridors. So far, the energy price shock is not as bad as after Ukraine. And after a decade of this, many businesses have built up a muscle memory. They have run this playbook before.
“But resilience is not the same as unlimited capacity. And there are warning lights flashing that we should not ignore.
“UK business already had sky-high energy costs before the Iran conflict, so even with the support the government has promised to some firms, the pressure is biting.
“The cost of living and the cost of doing business are rising and will rise further. What we don’t know is how much. Or for how long. Or how far business can be stretched.”
On the scale of the business tax burden, she will say:
“What business needs matters because business is how growth reaches people. Profit is the capacity to innovate and grow. To pay wages and create jobs. To deliver returns for savers and pensioners. It’s what keeps our businesses from going to the wall. And it’s what generates the tax base that pays for our public services.
“Last year, our data shows business paid almost 345 billion pounds in tax. That’s the Department of Health and the schools budget in England – plus the entire UK defence budget – combined.
“So if you care about public services, you must care about whether business can grow. If you care about jobs, you must care about whether business can afford to hire. If you care about the cost of living, you must care about the cost of doing business. They are inseparable.
“Profit is not a dirty word. It’s essential.”
Newton-Smith will warn that cost pressures on firms are intensifying, saying:
“Over the last 12 months, the profitability of UK business has been the lowest since the 2008 crash. Some of that is global – energy costs driven by forces outside the government’s control.
“But some of that is home-grown. Last year, the government tax take from business was the highest on record. National Insurance alone rose nearly 28 per cent on the year before – almost £27bn extra, taken from business.
“That is not free money. It is not free of consequence. It’s equivalent to the cost of creating almost 1.3 million jobs for young people on the 18–20 National Living Wage. You cannot fix the cost of living without fixing the cost of doing business. And the cost of doing business is reaching a tipping point.”
She will also push back on unhelpful narratives about price-gouging, saying:
“The business leaders I meet are fighting to keep their firms afloat and deliver for their customers. They may look calm, but they are paddling furiously beneath the surface – absorbing costs, protecting jobs and trying to keep investing in uncertain times.
“That’s why the narrative of profiteering and price-gouging is not just wide of the mark, it’s deeply damaging. Business leaders don’t get out of bed to rip people off. They get out of bed to roll up their sleeves and make things better.”
Newton-Smith will urge government to shift into action mode, saying:
“We’ve spent too long living in the shadow of the 2024 Budget. I want us to stop looking back, to remember our strengths, take a breath, and start moving forward.
“To do that, government has to get out of politics mode and into action mode. Right now, business badly needs three things: Confidence. Competitiveness. And consistency.”
On confidence, she will warn:
“Confidence is the elixir of growth. And right now, it’s in short supply. We can’t control global events. But governments must not add to the pressure. Either by talking down the UK’s capabilities. Or pushing up the burden on business.
“Business is not a cash tap that can be turned on without consequence. And adding to the burden now would have serious consequences. You cannot tax your way to growth, and we must not try.”
On competitiveness, she will highlight:
“We can’t control global energy markets. But we can control how exposed we are to them. The government has taken good steps to speed up renewables, and businesses are leaning in. Let’s be clear: we need the energy transition. No economy can be resilient without it. But after a second energy shock in five years, we also have to ask why UK costs are still so high.
“The reality is, compared to our competitors, we load too many environmental and social levies onto electricity bills. We need the investment those programmes fund. But if we are serious about competitiveness, we should fund them through general taxation – as other countries do. Every pound loaded onto business electricity bills is a pound not going to investment, wages or jobs.”
On consistency, she will say:
“There is a lot of good in what the Chancellor and this government have done. Sticking with the fiscal rules is hard, but right. So is committing to protect capital spending. Both must stay. And now the good plans business helped design need delivering. The industrial strategy. The infrastructure strategy. Work to cut regulation. Realignment with the EU.
“Those plans are kicking into gear – we just need the results to come much faster. Business doesn’t want a handbrake turn in policy. Just a foot on the accelerator.”
Read the CBI's new analysis of the business tax contribution in 2025/26 here.