Labour's tax hit on family firms could wipe out 125k jobs – the population of Blackburn – Kemi warns

12/16/2024 04:00 PM

LABOUR'S tax grab on family firms risks wiping out 125,000 jobs — equivalent to Blackburn's population, Kemi Badenoch has warned.

The Tory leader said Rachel Reeves' "tractor tax" does not just threaten farms but tens of thousands of family businesses.

She cited research that the changes may drain £9.4billion from the economy within three years and lead to a net loss of £1.25billion for the Treasury, with 125,000 job losses.

Ms Badenoch took aim at Labour's plans to scrap 100 per cent Business Property Relief on assets over £1million.

Family businesses and farms will face hefty inheritance taxbills when passed down.

At the Business Property Relief summit yesterday, Ms Badenoch said: "It's no good grabbing money you see if you damage the business underneath, it will not create more growth, more profit, more taxes for the next year."

The Tory leader pointed to research by CBI Economics which shows Labour's changes could wipe out 125,000 jobs.

She added: "That figure is equivalent to the entire population of Blackburn. That's a lot of people. Where are they going to go afterwards?"

It came as the Builders Merchants Federation signed an open letter to the Chancellor, warning against the changes.

Yesterday S&P Global's composite purchasing managers' index showed that UK growth stalled — at a reading of 50.5.

Employment slumped in December at the fastest rate since the 2009 financial crisis — excluding the pandemic — as firms reacted to a rise in staffing costs after the Budget.

Chris Williamson, at S&P Global, said the cuts were coming on the back of a "triple whammy of gloomy news".

A Treasury spokesman said: "We had to make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country."