08 Jan 2025Data published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that 63% of businesses are concerned about tax hikes, including the rise in employers' National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The BCC found that over half of businesses expect to raise their prices in the next three months. Fewer firms have increased investment plans and there has been a significant drop in business confidence since Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget in October 2024. Just 49% of businesses expect their turnover to increase in the next 12 months, compared to 56% in the third quarter of 2024. Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said: 'The worrying reverberations of the Budget are clear to see in our survey data. Businesses confidence has slumped in a pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes. 'Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months. 'The government is rightly coming up with long-term strategies on industry, infrastructure and trade. But those plans won't help businesses struggling now.'