Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget Misses Mark on Growth Promises
The UK business world was largely underwhelmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves' recent budget, which failed to deliver the promised pro-growth measures. The Treasury's efforts to engage with the banking sector were met with a lukewarm response, with big international banks like JP Morgan announcing new office openings in Canary Wharf rather than any significant investment plans.
In fact, many businesses are expressing deep-seated distrust of the government's ability to implement meaningful policy changes. The long weeks of briefing and speculation leading up to the budget only served to exacerbate this feeling, with income tax hikes being repeatedly introduced and then withdrawn.
While Reeves may have achieved some short-term goals, such as calming the bond market, her overall vision for growth remains elusive. The lack of meaningful tax reform is a major concern, with many experts arguing that more needs to be done to stimulate investment, hiring, and international competitiveness.
The government's planning reforms and increased infrastructure spending were touted as long-term investments, but their impact will likely take years to materialize. In contrast, the relatively minor introduction of per-mile charging for electric vehicles from 2028 is seen as a meager concession to growing environmental concerns.
Perhaps most concerning, however, is the government's failure to address the UK's dysfunctional property taxes, including stamp duty on housing transactions and the regressive nature of council tax. These issues have been repeatedly touted as areas requiring reform, but any progress appears to be slow in coming.
The target of building 1.5 million new homes over the course of parliament is also at risk of being missed, with little sense of how this goal will be improved upon. Meanwhile, the "British industrial competitiveness scheme" remains stalled, and stamp duty on shares continues to deter investors from London.
As one expert notes, the government's pro-growth ambitions remain at odds with its fiscal reality. While Reeves may have avoided some short-term challenges, her overall strategy is lacking in ambition and urgency. Businesses are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of meaningful reform, and it remains to be seen whether this budget will serve as a turning point for the UK's economic prospects.
The UK business world was largely underwhelmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves' recent budget, which failed to deliver the promised pro-growth measures. The Treasury's efforts to engage with the banking sector were met with a lukewarm response, with big international banks like JP Morgan announcing new office openings in Canary Wharf rather than any significant investment plans.
In fact, many businesses are expressing deep-seated distrust of the government's ability to implement meaningful policy changes. The long weeks of briefing and speculation leading up to the budget only served to exacerbate this feeling, with income tax hikes being repeatedly introduced and then withdrawn.
While Reeves may have achieved some short-term goals, such as calming the bond market, her overall vision for growth remains elusive. The lack of meaningful tax reform is a major concern, with many experts arguing that more needs to be done to stimulate investment, hiring, and international competitiveness.
The government's planning reforms and increased infrastructure spending were touted as long-term investments, but their impact will likely take years to materialize. In contrast, the relatively minor introduction of per-mile charging for electric vehicles from 2028 is seen as a meager concession to growing environmental concerns.
Perhaps most concerning, however, is the government's failure to address the UK's dysfunctional property taxes, including stamp duty on housing transactions and the regressive nature of council tax. These issues have been repeatedly touted as areas requiring reform, but any progress appears to be slow in coming.
The target of building 1.5 million new homes over the course of parliament is also at risk of being missed, with little sense of how this goal will be improved upon. Meanwhile, the "British industrial competitiveness scheme" remains stalled, and stamp duty on shares continues to deter investors from London.
As one expert notes, the government's pro-growth ambitions remain at odds with its fiscal reality. While Reeves may have avoided some short-term challenges, her overall strategy is lacking in ambition and urgency. Businesses are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of meaningful reform, and it remains to be seen whether this budget will serve as a turning point for the UK's economic prospects.
This budget just feels like more of the same... all these promises about growth but no real action 
. I get that the government wants to calm the bond market and stuff, but it doesn't feel like they're really doing anything to address the bigger issues, like tax reform and property taxes 
. It's like they're just putting Band-Aids on wounds instead of taking a real hard look at how to fix things 
. I'm not sure what else to say, but it feels like a missed opportunity 
... and businesses are really going to feel the pinch if this doesn't change soon 
I gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed with this budget. I mean, we've been hearing about how much the government wants to boost growth, but it feels like they're just patching things up instead of actually doing something bold. The lack of investment in small businesses and startups is huge, and it's not just a minor oversight - it's a massive missed opportunity.
. It feels like we're just rehashing old ideas instead of making real progress on growth 
. I mean, what's up with all these income tax hikes? It's like they're trying to suck more money out of people's pockets 
. And don't even get me started on the property taxes – it's like they're just ignoring the issue altogether 
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. And what's with the delay in building new homes? We need to start seeing some real action on this ASAP 
.
. This government needs to step up its game and make some real changes if they want to tackle these issues head-on 
.
While she calmed some worries with interest rate changes, the lack of investment plans 
The long wait for tax reform 
is killing the economy! And what's up with the property taxes? 
! We need more than just a few minor changes – we need big, bold moves 
. The UK needs to level up its game if it wants to stay competitive 
. It feels like Reeves is just trying to make numbers add up instead of actually making a plan for growth. And don't even get me started on those property taxes – it's like they want us to keep paying and paying without getting any real help 
. tax reform is always hard, but come on, 2028 for electric vehicle charging? that's ages away 
. and dont even get me started on property taxes... its like they're just ignoring those issues altogether 
. It's not like it's going to happen overnight or anything. And what about those property taxes? They're still broken, but no one seems to be doing anything about it.
. As someone who's been following the business news closely, I've got friends in different industries, and they're all scratching their heads wondering what more the government could have done to boost growth 
.
. Something needs to be done about that ASAP 
.
. We need more ambition and urgency from our leaders, pronto! 
and the fact that income tax goes up again is just soooo not fair 
. i wanna see some real action on stamp duty reform n invest in infrastructure 2 get those businesses jumpin' outta their seats 
... and don't even get me started on property taxes – it's just so frustrating that they're still being ignored 
, but not quite delivering the goods 
big international banks like jp morgan opening new offices in canary wharf instead of investing is a major slap in the face to uk businesses 
council tax is just regressive and outdated too