Sainsbury’s boss fires stark Budget warning at Chancellor as firms fear fresh Labour tax hammering

A TOP supermarket boss has told the Chancellor “not to repeat” Labour’s Budget mistakes of the past two years. Sainsbury’s chief Simon Roberts issued a stern warning to John Healey to avoid further tax hikes on business. His intervention comes after a survey by YouGov found that 52 per cent of businesses believe Wednesday’s Budget will leave them worse off. Bosses have continually slammed Mr Healey’s predecessor, Rachel Reeves, for hiking National Insurance costs which hit investment and hiring plans. But Mr Roberts said: “I think this Government is listening to business. “We’ve had the opportunity to meet with figures from Government and stress that it is really important we don’t see a repeat from previous Budgets.” READ MORE ON THE BUDGET Mr Healey is having to grapple with the public finances at a time when borrowing costs and inflation are on the rise. His financial cushion may drop by half to £12 billion. Nevertheless, The Spectator has reported that he may make a “down-payment” on defence spending reaching three per cent of GDP by 2030. It comes as Mr Healey said his Budget will cut “the cost of business”. Most read in Money He also claimed it would be aimed at supporting “bloody-minded entrepreneurs”. The Chancellor will reveal his Budget on 28 October.