Andy Burnham must ‘stop hammering Middle England’ with tax hikes, warns Carphone Warehouse co-founder

ANDY Burnham must stop “hammering Middle England” with tax hikes, the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse has warned just weeks ahead of the Budget. David Ross, who is now the boss of UK fashion retailer Jigsaw, slammed Labour’s tax hikes as damaging Britain’s high streets and squeezing hard-working families. David Ross co-founded Carphone Warehouse and is now the boss of fashion retailer Jigsaw Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd Andy Burnham is feared to be eyeing up more tax hikes ahead of the Budget Credit: Shutterstock Editorial As part of a list of demands for the upcoming Budget on October 28, he told the PM to “leave working households’ take-home pay alone”. He told MailOnline: “[Andy Burnham should] stop hammering Middle England. Our customer works, pays her taxes, and has watched frozen thresholds and higher bills eat her pay rise. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! “Very often she’s also the person behind the till. Squeeze her and you squeeze the shop, the jobs and the tax take together.” It comes amid fears that Chancellor John Healey is eyeing up more tax hikes as he prepares to present his Budget in a few weeks’ time. Experts have warned that Labour may need to raise up to £14billion in taxes after government borrowing costs soared to the highest level in 28 years. Labour has pledged in its manifesto not to increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT. However, households may still be hit by an extension to frozen tax thresholds, which have been frozen since 2021 meaning more Brits are being dragged into paying more tax. There are also fears that Capital Gains Tax and inheritance tax could be targeted. Most read in Money Ross, who co-founded Carphone Warehouse in 1991, also called on the Government to scrap business rates hikes and exempt shops from paying a new higher rate. Burnham should also lift the National Insurance threshold to £6,000, he added, to make it easier to hire young people. The threshold is currently £5,000 a year. Finally, he called on the Government to make sure new employment laws don’t kill the Saturday job, where young people can “learn the value of hard work”. It comes as Jigsaw, for which Ross became majority shareholder back in 2018, claimed its “turnaround is working” after its sales jumped by 18%. Meanwhile, online sales grew by 21%, with a 19% rise in the UK and 48% increase internationally. It said this was buoyed by “substantial growth” in key categories such as dresses, which saw a 43% surge for the spring/summer season. Comment now