{
  "id": 2991995,
  "title": "John Caudwell and Stuart Rose blast ‘tax creep’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/john-caudwell-and-stuart-rose-blast-tax-creep",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-24T09:33:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/john-caudwell-and-stuart-rose-blast-tax-creep/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Business leaders John Caudwell and Lord Stuart Rose have criticized the increasing burden of taxes on wealth creators in the UK. They have joined a campaign led by entrepreneur group Helm, urging the government to halt the \"creep of taxes\" on businesses. The letter, signed by former Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins and Gail's Bakery chairman Luke Johnson, calls for Labour to stop introducing new tax hikes on founders, including levies on dividends, capital gains, and business assets.\n\nLord Rose, former chairman of Asda and Marks & Spencer, expressed his growing concern over the cost of doing business, stating that taxes and regulation have become significant impediments to growth and employment. He highlighted the impact of former Chancellor Rachel Reeves' £25bn tax hike in late 2024, which alone took £100m a year out of one supermarket. Caudwell, a former donor to the Labour party, also questioned Labour's electability despite his financial support for the party.\n\nThe open letter to the government comes ahead of John Healey's Budget on October 28th. The new Chancellor has promised to provide businesses with \"breathing space\" after the private sector faced a significant share of tax hikes under the previous administration. The letter concludes that a \"steady creep of tax rises and reductions in entrepreneurial reliefs\" is making it harder for businesses to grow and scale in the UK.\n\nEconomists and think tanks have raised concerns about the design of the UK's tax system and the changes that have occurred over the past century. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argues that the overall tax system has deteriorated over the last 15 years, eroding incentives for investment. Research shows that levies on investment, such as corporation tax, personal taxes on dividends, and capital gains tax changes, have increased by 10 percentage points since the 2008 financial crisis. Over £65bn in cumulative taxes have been raised since 2024, with more than half impacting businesses.",
  "summary": "Billionaire political donor John Caudwell and retail bigwig Lord Stuart Rose have hit out at the “creep of taxes” hitting businesses across the country. The influential business veterans have joined a campaign led by entrepreneur group Helm calling on the government to “stop the creep of taxes on wealth creators”. A letter, which has been [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}