Image caption, Michelle Bunker from WGP wants to see a reduction in employer's National Insurance contributions ByMiles DavisDevon political reporter Published 39 minutes ago Some businesses are calling for the costs of employing staff to be brought down in the Budget on Wednesday.
A publisher from Tavistock, Devon, said he was "holding back" from filling two new positions at his firm because of the cost of taking on new employees.
At the Devon Business Show some firms said they had been struggling for the past two years to deal with the increases in employers' National Insurance contributions introduced in 2024, while also coping with increases in the National Minimum Wage.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday but has refused to rule out tax increases after acknowledging government borrowing costs are at "historic highs".
Image caption, Tim Randell from Links Publishing wants to see a reduction in the costs of employing staff Michelle Bunker, from WGP Maintenance, in Plymouth, said she had one clear message for the chancellor: "I want to see National Insurance contributions starting to go down." Tim Randell, who runs Links Publishing, said changes to government policy would allow him to employ more people.
He said: "All we've had for the last two Budgets is more tax, more expense, the living wage, and all those things mean that people like me are not employing the young.
