'No more sweeping changes, Chancellor...'

Tax reforms. Tackling child poverty. Improved rail travel. Arts investment. Research and development relief.

These are just some of the key asks from business leaders ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hotly anticipated Autumn Budget.

Here, Bdaily highlights several bosses’ blueprints, which they say would provide vital financial stability as the country heads into 2026.

Stephen Patterson, chief executive at Newcastle city centre business improvement district company NE1

Businesses have had a tough year after the first budget.

The triple tax whammy of increases to the national minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions, coupled with the cut to business rates relief, hit businesses hard.   

It was no coincidence that between January and April this year, Newcastle saw the untimely demise of several prominent hospitality businesses that fell victim to these pressures.  

Thankfully, the worst appears to be over, and the city’s economy is stabilising.

With the next Budget imminent, we are calling on the Government to deliver a period of stability alongside some well-targeted support for our key industries.

We don’t need any more sweeping changes that will place an even greater burden on customers and businesses. 

We have two main asks.

The first is to reduce VAT for the hospitality sector. 

Industries like hospitality, retail and leisure are the backbone of our cities and communities, yet they have borne the brunt of the recent challenges.

These sectors are among the nation’s largest employers, and supporting them is essential to safeguard jobs and drive economic recovery and growth.

Cutting VAT would provide a much-needed lifeline at a time when margins are razor-thin, and a permanent VAT reduction could protect thousands of jobs and encourage long-term investment.

Business rates relief for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, the cornerstone of our high streets, is our second key recommendation. 

Rumours are rife that a business rates review and proposed ‘super-tax’ on properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more are in the Chancellor’s budget toolkit.

These proposals are fuelling great uncertainty among businesses and prompting warnings that large retailers, including big high street brands, would be hit hardest by these proposed changes with disastrous consequences.

Their loss would have a domino effect, leading to more vacant units and a further decline in UK city centre high streets.

But reducing tax burdens would encourage investment and expansion. 

Businesses have done all they can to weather recent economic storms.

The time has come for the Government to restore economic stability and lay the foundations for future growth and expansion.

Praveen Gupta, UK head of tax at Azets

SMEs need a boost.

After five years of rising costs, they need support to grow, evolve and innovate, and to help support their local economies, supply chains and communities by doing so.

Lowering the corporation tax rate to 15 per cent would encourage businesses to expand, invest in equipment and technology, and create jobs.

It would also increase income to the Treasury through other taxes, and would have the additional benefit of encouraging non-UK businesses to base themselves in the UK.

We also advocate increasing the base threshold for quarterly instalment payments (QIPs) for SMEs from £1.5 million to £3 million. 

This would result in fewer SMEs being eligible to pay QIPs, easing their cashflow burden and freeing up funds for them to invest in growth. 

Enabling seasonal SMEs to defer one or more QIP payments with interest-free grace periods would help ease the administrative burden they face, as well as reducing cost pressures on businesses of this size across the UK. 

Employment taxes have become one of the largest challenges for businesses, especially SMEs, over the last year. 

We would like to see the Government set out a clear rolling employment tax roadmap, which looks ahead for two tax years. 

It would enable business leaders to plan more effectively and budget more accurately.

Additionally, while we recognise the importance of VAT for the Treasury, we believe a number of carefully targeted refinements could encourage SME activity and growth without the Treasury facing a significant drop in revenue. 

These include an increase in the VAT registration threshold to in excess of £200,000. 

This would mean that smaller businesses, especially start-ups, would register at a slightly later time. 

This would decrease administration costs for smaller businesses and start-ups, improve pricing competitiveness in the marketplace, and provide smaller businesses with additional funds in their early stages to expand, recruit and invest in staff or technology. 

Our final suggestion is to introduce targeted VAT relief for sectors of the economy where businesses are struggling. 

Countries including France, Spain and Portugal are offering reduced VAT rates to sectors like hospitality, leisure and entertainment. 

Following their example would provide a welcome boost to businesses in affected sectors, which could be further affected if consumers cut back on their spending. 

Chris Hodgson, tax director at Johnston Carmichael

Taxation doesn’t have to be a bad word; it is a key lever to help businesses be more profitable and create jobs. 

And jobs and wealth are crucial to helping ailing communities rise up.

Over the last few years, ever-changing tax rules have created a climate of confusion and uncertainty among business owners.

Every few months, the goalposts seem to shift.

From reforms to business and agricultural property relief to ongoing changes to business asset disposal relief, entrepreneurs are second-guessing the rules that shape their futures.

As a result, we’re seeing a 'watch-and-wait' culture take hold.

While eminently sensible, and entirely understandable, doing nothing stalls progress.

Across the UK, deals are being delayed. Projects are being shelved. People are hesitating to take the leap.

Uncertainty and confusion about tax policies have an adverse impact on businesses and entrepreneurs who are geared to take informed risks.

Loss of confidence also leads to a loss of the entrepreneurial spark that powers growth.

Businesses can plan for higher taxes. What they can’t plan around is confusion caused by continued changes to fill short-term fiscal gaps.

The corporate tax roadmap set out the long-term direction of UK corporation tax in a way designed to provide clarity, stability and predictability for businesses, giving them greater confidence to invest.

A similar approach would be beneficial across the wider UK tax system to enhance stability and predictability.

Tax policy can, and should, support those who create jobs.

What’s needed now is a system that’s simple, stable and credible.

That doesn’t mean low taxes at all costs.

It means fair and transparent rules that give businesses the confidence to act.

A budget that gets behind business owners and entrepreneurs will unlock the economic activity we need to create jobs that put money in people’s pockets and raise the tax that funds our public services.

Julia Handelman-Smith, director at cultural programme Into The Light

We must recognise the value of culture, creativity and creative skills across the budget portfolio because of the impact on every aspect of our lives and our society. 

Culture funding can’t sit in a separate box, constantly left as an additional extra that only the wealthy can afford.

This starves communities of creativity and future talent.

Like putting money in a savings account, investing in the arts earns compound interest that can save millions in healthcare, education, infrastructure and benefits further down the line. 

Supporting the arts can help countless people develop sustainable businesses as flourishing artists, and arts and culture can be a major driver in placemaking. 

But the arts industry also creates valuable employment for electricians, builders, technicians, not to mention the hospitality industry.

All of these things feed job creation and economic benefit.

Arts and culture generates £400 million in economic impact in the UK annually. 

For every £1 of public money invested into the arts, £33 is returned – it’s a huge, thriving ecosystem. Yet it’s wildly underfunded. 

That’s why it’s so important we finally recognise what the arts do for the UK economically, socially and culturally.

My asks from this budget are straightforward – more funding and more recognition for our contribution.

UK arts and culture needs clear, policy-driven investment at national level, not simply crumbs from the table of other spending initiatives.

We also want to understand if the Government is exploring how to leverage economic stability and multi-annual financial planning.

This arts industry is worth the investment, and it contributes to every part of our lives – education, healthcare, community development, industry and innovation.

The list is endless.  

Give us our place at the table, and let's give UK talent the opportunities to grow our economy.

The Great North mayors

We must connect our people and businesses, and unlock the full potential of our regional economies.

Infrastructure underpins opportunity.

The North is already developing transformative infrastructure investment plans to connect people to jobs, education and opportunity.

The Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review recognised that realising the untapped potential of the North requires a transformation in infrastructure that delivers faster, more reliable rail journeys.

It also needs increased capacity to improve resilience and meet growing passenger, business and freight demand.

Northern Powerhouse Rail delivered in full is key to realising this potential, complementing other rail investment.

This full network includes a new line from Liverpool to Manchester, running from Liverpool Lime Street via Liverpool Gateway, Warrington and Manchester Airport to an underground through station at Manchester Piccadilly.

The new line would continue onwards to Huddersfield and Leeds via a new station in central Bradford and include electrification of the Leeds-Sheffield line.

It also requires significant upgrades to the Hope Valley and upgrading the East Coast Main Line north of Northallerton, including unlocking capacity by reopening the Leamside Line to ensure effective services through to Sheffield, Hull and the North East.

Previously committed improvements north of York and electrification of the Midland Main Line to Sheffield, and the long overdue 70-mile stretch which connects Hull to Selby and Doncaster, are needed.

Kim McGuinness, North East mayor and Great North chair 

The North of England has to be at the vanguard of the Government’s mission to unlock the growth the country and communities badly need.

That’s why we’re calling on the Government to make game-changing investment in our infrastructure and wholesale reform of business support, so we can unleash the potential of people and businesses.

We stand ready to deliver for UK PLC, so we can create jobs and opportunity for people we represent.

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