ICAEW chief: Britain can’t build a better economy one Budget at a time

To achieve sustainable economic growth, the government must move beyond short-term Budget fixes and provide businesses with long-term certainty through tax stability and regulatory reform, says Alan Vallance You can t invest what you don t have or when you are unsure what extra tax or regulatory burden is around the corner. That was how one of our members summed up what businesses need from the Chancellor s forthcoming Budget. It captures something I hear repeatedly from business leaders: the frustration of being asked to deliver growth, while facing rising costs, higher taxes and growing regulatory demands. The scale of that pressure is clear in our latest Business Confidence Monitor. Business confidence has now been negative for seven consecutive quarters, matching the longest uninterrupted period since the global financial crisis. For many businesses, that means postponing investment, putting recruitment on hold and diverting resources away from growth simply to absorb