Supermarkets tell Reeves tax rises could push food prices higher
Food prices in the UK could climb even further if the chancellor raises taxes on supermarkets at the next budget, the industry has warned.Supermarket bosses, including those at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, have said in a letter to Rachel Reeves that households would “inevitably feel the impact” of potential tax rises on the sector.“If the industry faces higher taxes in the coming budget – such as being included in the new surtax on business rates – our ability to deliver value for our customers will become even more challenging, and it will be households who inevitably feel the impact,” they wrote in the joint letter.“Given the costs currently falling on the industry, including from the last budget, high food inflation is likely to persist into 2026.This is not something that we would want to see prolonged by any measure in the budget.
”Pressure is mounting on the chancellor to increase taxes in the budget on 26 November to help to plug a shortfall in public finances,Supermarkets have complained that they were hit hard at the last budget, when Reeves announced a £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions and a 6,7% rise in the “national living wage”,The changes came into effect this April,The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said it was concerned that big shops could face much higher business rate tax bills if they are included in the government’s new additional tax for properties with a rateable value of more than £500,000.
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said exempting supermarkets from this surtax would help keep food inflation under control.“The chancellor has rightly made tackling inflation her top priority, and with food inflation stubbornly high, ensuring retail’s rates burden doesn’t rise further would be one of the simplest ways to help,” she said.“This would not cost the taxpayer a penny, with large office blocks and industrial plants, for whom business rates is a smaller proportion of their costs, paying a little more.”Official data shows that UK inflation was unchanged last month at 3.8%, with annual food price inflation easing from 5.
1% in August to 4.5% in September.It was the first time this rate had slowed since March.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionHowever, the cumulative effect means grocery bills are much higher compared with a few years ago.The letter, which was also signed by bosses at Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Iceland, says addressing “retail’s disproportionate tax burden would send a strong signal of support for the industry and of the government’s commitment to tackling food inflation”.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Tackling food inflation is a priority, which is why we’re boosting incomes through increasing the national living wage, lowering business rates for butchers, bakers and other shops, and sticking to our fiscal rules to bring inflation down,”It is understood the government takes the view that even if a property’s rateable value increases, the way the system works means that its bill could still go down,
New Zealand beat England by four wickets in first men’s ODI – as it happened
Simon’s report is in so I’ll call it a day (at 8am). Cheers!Brook is the player of the match. For all of his obvious gifts, that knock is also a bit of a breakthrough for him in this format. He didn’t get too many in the recent series against South Africa and his career average, in the mid-30s, doesn’t match up to his talents.Well, the game was decided quite a while back but we still got something resembling a contest: that seemed out of reach when England were 10 for four and then 56 for six
Lando Norris claims F1 Mexico City GP pole as teammate Oscar Piastri falters
Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, with a superb lap for McLaren at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The Briton left his title rivals in his wake and in so doing earned a chance to make a major impact on the championship standings and potentially retake the lead.Enjoying a huge boost to his world championship ambitions, Norris delivered perhaps his best lap of the season in qualifying, to beat the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton into second and third. Of greater import was that his fellow title protagonists Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, could manage only fifth and eighth fastest respectively.The pole was a real statement of intent from Norris and McLaren and exactly the riposte they required after the recent momentum Verstappen has gathered as he closed the gap to the leaders
Vladimir Kramnik denies wrongdoing in death of US chess star Daniel Naroditsky
Vladimir Kramnik has broken his silence following the death of American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, calling the 29-year-old’s passing a tragedy while accusing critics of mounting an “unprecedentedly cynical and unlawful campaign of harassment” against him and his family.The 50-year-old former world champion, who has faced widespread condemnation for accusing Naroditsky of online cheating without evidence, expressed condolences but denied any personal attacks.“Despite the tensions in our relationship, I was the only person in the chess community who, noticing on video Daniel’s obvious health issues a day before his death, publicly called for him to receive help,” Kramnik wrote in a statement on X. “The subsequent attempts, immediately following his passing, to directly link this tragic event to my name … cross all boundaries of basic human morality.”Kramnik said his earlier calls for a review of Naroditsky’s online play had been ignored “despite a significant amount of evidence”, and claimed he would provide material to “any relevant authority”, He said his lawyers were preparing civil and criminal suits over “false accusations” that have led to threats against him and his family
London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for England | John Davidson
Barry Humphries came to London in 1959 to become a star. Germaine Greer came to the UK to study in the 1960s, while Clive James did the same, swapping Kogarah for Kensington to become a renowned writer.Fast forward 60-odd years and it was Reece Walsh arriving in the English capital, albeit for a briefer stay, and out to make a splash in the Old Dart. And on Saturday in the cauldron of Wembley Stadium, he did just that.The NRL is intent on making rugby league a global sport, with sojourns to Las Vegas, State of Origin matches staged in New Zealand, a new club in Papua New Guinea and games in Dubai and Hong Kong in the works
Cokanasiga on song to help Bath past Bristol in bruising West Country derby
Bath do not lose often these days, never mind on successive league weekends. And with an injury-hit Bristol supposedly cast in the role of punchbags this fixture was widely viewed as a home banker. Sure enough the defending champions eventually pulled away but only at the final whistle could this feisty, incident-packed West Country derby be classed as wholly comfortable.It was fractious and visceral enough at times to make next Saturday’s England game against Australia look like a quiet suburban church fete. The England management will be suitably relieved that Ellis Genge, Ollie Lawrence, Guy Pepper and others walked away largely intact but they will all report back to Bagshot feeling distinctly battered and bruised
Tyrone Green doubles up as rampant Harlequins soar above Newcastle
Beaten to nil last weekend in embarrassing fashion, Harlequins, it should come as no real surprise, ran in tries from all quarters on Saturday. They will be annoyed that they failed to do the nilling here, but two late scores by Newcastle spoiled their afternoon somewhat, even if the Red Bulls, as they now call themselves, were little more than party to an exhibition by that stage.Nothing if not inconsistent, Quins were as deadly this week as they were listless last. They scored eight tries in all, including a brace for Tyrone Green on his 100th appearance. The bonus point was secured within half an hour, the fifth try on the stroke of half-time, and just past the hour the score read 52-0
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