英国零售业领袖敦促财政大臣降低雇用年轻人成本

英国零售和酒店业领袖代表，包括特易购、Costa咖啡等企业高管以及英国零售联盟主席，于周二在唐宁街11号与财政大臣约翰·希利举行会议，呼吁在其即将公布的首份预算中采取措施降低雇用年轻人的成本1。会议出席者包括玛莎百货首席执行官斯图尔特·麦金和圣斯伯里首席执行官西蒙·罗伯茨1。

企业领袖针对前任财政大臣瑞秋·里维斯的政策提出了具体诉求1。他们要求将雇主国民保险缴款门槛从现行的5000英镑提高至6000英镑，以缓解雇用年轻人带来的成本压力1。零售业声称在过去两年内相关税收增加了20%，其中仅新就业成本就达到6.5亿英镑1。

此外，希利还拒绝了工党议员和智库关于提高资本利得税至与收入税相同水平的建议1。这一提议曾被经济学家认为可能为国库增加11.3亿英镑的年收入，而财政大臣以担忧提高资本利得税会阻止对外投资作为拒绝理由1。

British retail and hospitality executives met with Chancellor John Hunt on Tuesday at Number 11 Downing Street to urge him to reduce the cost of hiring young people in his forthcoming budget 1. The delegation, which included leaders from Tesco, Costa Coffee, and the British Retail Consortium, pressed Hunt to raise the employer National Insurance contribution threshold from £5,000 to £6,000 1. This increase would help offset policies implemented by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose changes reduced the threshold from £9,100 to £5,000 1.

The retail sector has faced significant tax increases over the past two years, with business leaders claiming an aggregate rise of 20 percent, including £6.5 billion in new employment costs 1. Attendees at the meeting included Marks & Spencer Chief Executive Stuart Mackin and Sainsbury's Chief Executive Simon Roberts 1.

Hunt rejected calls from Labour MPs and think tanks to equalize capital gains tax with income tax rates, citing concerns that such a move would deter foreign investment 1. Economists have suggested that bringing capital gains tax to parity with income tax could generate £11.3 billion in annual revenue for the Treasury, following Reeves' earlier decision to increase capital gains tax rates from 10 percent to 18 percent for basic rate taxpayers and from 20 percent to 24 percent for higher rate taxpayers in 2024 1.