CBI warns fall in corporate profits could hit pensions and taxes

Any fall in profits at UK firms could threaten pensions, schools and jobs, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The CBI says the amount companies earn as a share of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen since 1997, and it has asked Gordon Brown not to do anything that will raise business costs.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

CBI director general, Digby Jones, said: “We have been through a period of profitless prosperity with firms not making as much money as in previous economic upswings,” he said.

“Ministers and voters alike must realise this is not merely a business issue. With a significant proportion of all corporate profits going to pension funds and insurance companies as shareholders, poor profits mean lower pensions, less tax and fewer schools and hospitals.”