Overview

• ICAEW’s Q3 survey shows sentiment at minus 7.3, down from minus 4.2, marking the weakest reading since late 2022.
• Squeezed profits, softer recruitment and curtailed investment were cited as key drivers, with six in ten firms calling the tax burden a growing concern.
• The BCC’s poll of 4,600 mostly SMEs reports 59% now most worried about taxes and 57% about inflation, with respondents expecting price growth near 4%.
• ICAEW data highlights profits growth slowing to 2.3% alongside falling staff training budgets and the lowest employment expectations in five years.
• With forecasts pointing to a roughly £30bn fiscal gap, officials are considering wealth‑related options, intensifying business warnings against another “Budget battering.”