{"id":3911,"date":"2025-07-04T10:10:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T10:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/business\/business-confidence-remains-weak-after-ni-and-wage-cost-hikes-says-bcc\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T10:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T10:10:39","slug":"business-confidence-remains-weak-after-ni-and-wage-cost-hikes-says-bcc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/business\/business-confidence-remains-weak-after-ni-and-wage-cost-hikes-says-bcc\/","title":{"rendered":"Business confidence remains weak after NI and wage cost hikes, says BCC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-10wlkbs-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveIndyBreakingNews\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM dRzeRr\">For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM knvhy\">Sign up to our free breaking news emails<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM kbCQAZ\">Sign up to our free breaking news emails<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 jKIGjX sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/breakingNews1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Breaking News\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>Business confidence remains fragile after firms swallowed the jump in tax and labour costs in April, according to new research.<\/p>\n<p>A survey by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/british-chambers-of-commerce\">British Chambers of Commerce<\/a> (BCC) found that most firms continue to see tax pressures as their main concern going forward.<\/p>\n<p>The influential business group urged the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/government\">Government<\/a> to rule out further tax hikes for firms later this year as a result.<\/p>\n<p>The quarterly economic survey showed that 56% of firms said they were particularly concerned about their tax burden, with this followed by worries over rising inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the proportion of businesses expecting to put up prices over the next three months eased to 44%, after spiking at 55% in the first quarter of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The BCC said the research found that \u201cconfidence among businesses remains weak\u201d, with less than half, 49%, of firms expecting to increase their turnover in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>This was marginally improved from the previous quarter but still the second lowest figure since the aftermath of the mini budget in late 2022.<\/p>\n<p>A fifth (20%) of businesses expect turnover to worsen and 31% expect no change, the survey found.<\/p>\n<p>Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: \u201cThe rising cost of doing business means confidence levels remain at their lowest levels since 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, it\u2019s encouraging to see a drop in the number of firms planning to raise prices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast week, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/prime-minister\">Prime Minister<\/a> acknowledged at the BCC\u2019s global annual conference that business has been asked to shoulder a huge tax burden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe now need the Government to rule out any further business taxes in this year\u2019s budget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, around a quarter of firms said they are also reducing their investment plans due to recent cost increases.<\/p>\n<p>David Bharier, head of research at the BCC, said: \u201cApril\u2019s rise in national insurance contributions has cemented tax as the dominant concern for firms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBusinesses are entering a new employment landscape marked by structurally higher labour costs and administrative requirements, fuelling increased anxiety about redundancies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/business\/british-chambers-of-commerce-government-prime-minister-b2781544.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Business confidence remains fragile after firms swallowed the jump in tax and labour costs in April, according to new research&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/business\/business-confidence-remains-weak-after-ni-and-wage-cost-hikes-says-bcc\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Business confidence remains weak after NI and wage cost hikes, says BCC&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/07\/02\/22\/6e3b1462abdc50622ff7539564e54812Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUxNTQ0MzU1-2.80789949.jpg?width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.8 (Yoast SEO v22.1) - 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