Source: Sharecast
In a speech to be delivered at the trade body’s national business dinner in London on Thursday, chief executive Rain Newton-Smith will say the UK has "the makings of a true growth story".
"We’ve all heard this idea going round, that we’re in some kind of doom spiral. I just don’t buy it. I see our strengths first hand."
She will also back both the chancellor and government, insisting there is "a lot of good" in what has been achieved to date. "Sticking with the fiscal rules is hard, but right. So is committing to protect capital spending. Both must stay."
But Newton-Smith will warn that the cost of doing business is "reaching a tipping point".
She will say: "Over the last 12 months, the profitability of UK business has been the lowest since the 2008 crash. Some of that is global. But some of that is home-grown. Last year, the government tax take from businesses was the highest on record."
According to research carried out by the CBI, businesses paid £344.8bn of taxes in 2025/26, including a 35.7% hike in employer National Insurance contributions, at £123.1bn. Corporation tax delivered £103.1bn of that.
The research also claimed that businesses had accounted for 31.3% of total tax revenues during the year, the highest share since 1998/99 on a like-for-like basis, representing 11.2% of GDP.
Newton-Smith will say: "UK businesses already had sky-high energy costs before the Iran conflict.
"The cost of living and the cost of doing business rising and will rise further. What we don’t know is how much, or how long. Or how far business can be stretched.
"What business needs matters because business is how growth reaches people Profit is not a dirty word, it’s essential."
Newton-Smith will also hit out at Brexit, arguing that despite being sold as "a step-forward" for sovereignty and free trade, it has instead "dragged us backwards".
The CBI’s tax analysis was based primarily on monthly public sector receipts data from the Office for National Statistics, supplemented with figures from HMRC and the Office for Budget Responsibility, alongside other datasets. The comparison with 1998/99 is the earliest year for which the methodology for measuring public sector current receipts is available.
