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Harris & Co

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Harris & Co Chartered accountants and Business Advisors We are a firm of chartered accountants who specialise in advising owner managed businesses.

Having spent the last 20 years growing our business from a zero base, we have first hand experience of the issues involved in setting up and running a successful business. We can offer practical solutions to your business issues. Oh and we're great at doing your accounts and saving you tax too!

21/10/2026

Healey mulls tax hit on family businesses
The Chancellor is weighing plans to charge income tax when owners pass businesses to the next generation, potentially almost doubling their tax bills. Such transfers can currently be arranged to incur lower-rate capital gains tax. The proposals would affect entrepreneurs planning retirement and aim to raise hundreds of millions beyond Labour’s earlier inheritance tax changes for family businesses, which are expected to bring in £300m annually for the public finances.

13/10/2026

🚨 Labour came to power warning of a £22bn black hole.
Since then they have:
❌ Put taxes up by around £70bn
❌ Borrowed another £310bn
And now, after taking more of your money AND borrowing hundreds of billions more…
…there is apparently another £35bn black hole.
At what point do we admit the problem isn’t that Government doesn’t have enough money?
It’s that Government cannot control its spending.
You cannot tax your way to growth.
You cannot borrow your way out of overspending.
And taxpayers cannot keep being handed the bill.

25/09/2026

ONS statistics show government is borrowing more than expected
Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 22 September 2026 showed the UK borrowed £18.3 billion in August 2026, up £2.9 billion on the same month last year.

Increased debt levels were partly attributed to the impacts of inflation causing a greater increase in spending than receipts received from taxes and elsewhere. Overall borrowing in the financial year to August 2026 was £77.3 billion, £2.2 billion less than the same period last year but £8.1 billion above the OBR forecast in March.

Nick Redpath, Research Economist at the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned against reading too much into any one set of monthly figures due to revisions being commonly made but stated:

‘Both higher borrowing costs and higher inflation make life harder for a Chancellor who is looking to bring down borrowing and to spend more on government priorities.’

23/09/2026

Economic uncertainty and increasing cost pressures are significantly constraining the growth ambitions of UK SMEs, with many businesses focused on maintaining stability rather than pursuing expansion. According to recent research by Flagstone, 43% of SMEs are uncertain whether they can sustain current trading conditions for more than two years, highlighting the need for greater support to safeguard employment, investment, and long-term business resilience.

The findings show that cost-related pressures dominate the challenges facing UK businesses. In addition to ongoing concerns around energy costs and wider economic uncertainty, organisations are increasingly impacted by rising labour expenses (28%), escalating operational costs, including premises and IT infrastructure (26%), and higher expenditure on materials, stock, and inventory (25%). Collectively, these factors are placing considerable strain on business profitability and limiting opportunities for growth and investment.

18/09/2026

Business group urges Chancellor to ‘restore business confidence’

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on Chancellor John Healey to help restore confidence amongst UK businesses in the upcoming Autumn Budget.

The IoD recently published its Autumn Budget submission in which it urged the Chancellor to restore confidence, encourage private investment and create the conditions for stronger long-term economic growth.

It argued that persistent weaknesses in investment, productivity and business confidence ‘risk undermining future prosperity’.

The submission identified five priority areas where the Budget can help strengthen the UK’s growth prospects. The IoD urges the government to:

create a competitive and predictable tax environment
mitigate the investment and employment consequences of the Employment Rights Act
sequence devolution to support productivity across the UK
deliver economically productive infrastructure
accelerate responsible AI adoption across the business population.

Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the IoD, commented: ‘This Budget must restore confidence and provide a clear signal that the UK is committed to being one of the most attractive places in the world to invest, grow a business and create jobs.’

16/09/2026

Chancellor Urged to Reverse Family Business Inheritance Tax Reforms

The Chancellor has come under increasing pressure to reverse controversial inheritance tax changes affecting family-owned businesses, amid concerns that the measures could hinder economic growth and investment across the UK.

More than 200,000 businesses have signed an open letter calling for the abolition of reforms to Business Property Relief (BPR), which were introduced by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Under the revised rules, relief is capped at £1 million, with assets exceeding this threshold subject to an effective 50% inheritance tax charge.

Industry leaders argue that the changes place additional financial burdens on family-run enterprises and could discourage long-term business ownership in the UK.

Neil Davy, Chief Executive of Family Business UK, said that reversing the reforms would demonstrate the Government's commitment to supporting domestic businesses and entrepreneurship.

“Reversing these changes would send a powerful message that Britain wants businesses to stay here,” he said.

The letter has also received support from several leading trade organisations, including UK Hospitality, the British Independent Retailers Association, Build UK, and the Country Land and Business Association.

The renewed campaign follows comments from former Labour minister Lord Blunkett, who described the inheritance tax changes affecting family farms as a mistake. His concerns have been echoed by former Prime Minister Lord Cameron, adding further political pressure for a review of the policy.

Business groups are now urging the Government to reconsider the reforms, arguing that maintaining favourable tax treatment for family-owned businesses and farms is essential to supporting investment, protecting jobs, and sustaining long-term economic growth.

11/09/2026

Chancellor pledges to make Great Britain ‘growth Britain’
In a speech ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October, Chancellor John Healey pledged to make Great Britain ‘growth Britain again’ by strengthening the UK’s economic growth trajectory.

Mr Healey said that he understands that small businesses in the UK are facing significant cost pressures, from rising energy bills to higher labour costs.

He stated that growth is the only way to combat cost increases for businesses and the public. The Chancellor intends to make the UK a ‘country of wealth creation’ by ensuring government policies help generate confidence in British businesses.

In his speech, the Chancellor also stated he won’t respond to speculation regarding tax rises ahead of the Autumn Budget. He said the government is focused on ‘doubling down’ on growth, calling it the ‘first economic priority’ of this government.

Mr Healey said: ‘On my first day in the Treasury, I said that fiscal discipline was my first priority as Chancellor. It underwrites every promise this government makes.

‘And the Prime Minister and I are in lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget, from balancing the books with a buffer to protect against uncertainty to controlling borrowing to bear down on inflation and reducing long-term pressures on our public finances.’

09/09/2026

BCC: Tax hikes would put firms on a 'road to ruin'
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has cautioned Chancellor John Healey against tax increases in the upcoming Budget, warning that hikes would lead the UK towards economic decline. Director General Shevaun Haviland emphasised the need for cost reductions to support businesses, saying: "Piling more taxes on firms would be a road to ruin." She stressed that pro-growth decisions "have never been more urgent," arguing that they are crucial for job creation and economic recovery. The BCC has proposed measures such as cutting employer National Insurance Contributions for under-25s and reducing business rates to alleviate financial pressures on firms.

06/09/2026

Growth outlook affected by weak business investment
The latest economic forecast published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that the growth outlook for the UK has been affected by weak business investment.

According to the BCC, GDP in 2026 is expected to grow by 1.0% (compared with 0.9% in the previous forecast), then 1.0% in 2027, rising to 1.3% in 2028.

The BCC expects inflation to peak at 3.6% by the end of the year, easing to 2.3% by the fourth quarter of 2027.

It also anticipates that business investment will contract by 0.2% in 2026 before recovering to grow by 0.4% in 2027.

Commenting on the forecast, David Bharier, Deputy Director of Economics and Insights at the BCC, said: ‘Our latest forecast paints an uncertain outlook for the UK economy. Businesses have absorbed another major geopolitical shock and shown real resilience.

‘But growth remains subdued, and rests on consumption, not investment. Net trade is also a drag in every single year of the forecast.

02/09/2026

Like many of our politicians, our Prime Minister views the EU through rose-tinted spectacles and ignores the actual numbers. Today he blamed the UK's slow GDP growth rate for the past 10 years on "Brexit".

Three problems with that.

The first is that from 2016 to 2021 we were technically still part of the EU and didn't actually leave until 2021.

The second is that the numbers don't really back up his statement. From 2016-2024 (his "decade") the UK GDP grew at 1.46% pa whereas the two largest economies in the EU, Germany and France, GDP grew at 0.81% and 1.25% pa respectively. From 2021 to 2024 (when we were truly out of the EU) the UK GDP grew at 1% pa and again outperformed Germany at 0.04% annual GDP growth and France at 0.96% annual GDP growth. Anyway you look at it the UK is economically outperforming the major EU economies.

The third is that eye wateringly high Government requiring excrutiatingly high levels of taxation that destroy all incentives and an employer hostile environment (with added tax burdens, new emploment rights etc) are conventiently ignored. Given that 83% of SME's do not trade with the EU, these are far more likely to be holding growth back!

Address

2 Pavilion Court
Northampton
NN47SL

Opening Hours

Monday	7:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	7:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	7:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	7:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	7:30am - 5:30pm

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http://www.harrisandco.biz/

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