The boss of Lidl has said retailers are “reeling” from autumn Budget tax increases, which he said will add to inflationary pressures at the grocery giant.<br />Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB chief executive, said the discount supermarket chain is expecting to face “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs as a result of a raft of changes launched by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month.<br /><br />Ms Reeves revealed a £25.7 billion change to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) in the Budget, which would increase the rate of the tax and reduce the threshold at which firms must pay.<br /><br />Retail businesses will also come under pressure from other policy changes, including packaging levies and increases to the national minimum wage.<br /><br />Lidl was among major retailers – also including Tesco, Asda and M&S – who warned the Chancellor that jobs will be cut and prices will have to rise as a result of the impact.<br /><br />Mr McDonnell said: “There is a lot of impact that we will have to negotiate and I think the letter shows that the industry is reeling a lot.<br /><br />“We are talking about £7 billion for the whole industry. For us it will be somewhere in the tens of millions.”<br /><br />He said that the jump in costs will result in “greater inflationary pressures” but stressed that it will “maintain market-leading pricing”.
