What: The chief executive of M&S and the chair of John Lewis Partnership have urged chancellor John Healey to reverse the "mistakes" of the last two Budgets and avoid new taxes on high street retailers ahead of the 28 October Budget, with Tesco's chief executive also opposing a "warehouse tax".

Why it is important: Government high street support has so far focused on vacant properties through the £210m package rather than retailers' operating costs, which is why retailers are now pressing the chancellor on tax and regulation.

Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin and John Lewis Partnership's Jason Tarry have urged chancellor John Healey to overturn the "mistakes" of the last two Budgets, with the next one due on 28 October. Prime minister Andy Burnham has promised tax breaks for pubs, but retailers want help for the high street too.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Machin called the last two Budgets "a disaster", saying Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations. Machin also asked for an overturn of "patently ridiculous" recycling rules, assurance that workers' rights reforms do not "ban the Saturday job" and a "common sense" EU food trade deal.

Tarry told The Telegraph that a "warehouse tax" would reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of how modern high streets work, hitting far more shops than warehouses. At John Lewis, the higher charge applies to 18 distribution centres but over 200 John Lewis and Waitrose stores. The industry fears Burnham could raise warehouse bills to fund the pub rates cut. Tesco's Ken Murphy has also opposed the tax, saying retailers pay "four times their fair share of rates".

IADS Notes: The retailers' appeal to the chancellor follows a year of building cost pressure on UK retail. Industry groups warned a year ago that a business rates increase could put more than 100,000 retail jobs at risk, with department stores and supermarkets facing mounting costs (Retail Week, October 2025). Retailers had also absorbed higher National Insurance contributions and minimum wage rises by cutting headcount and weekly hours and limiting pay increases (Financial Times, October 2025). The cumulative effect is visible at John Lewis Partnership, whose first-half pre-tax loss widened to £124m from £88m despite 2% sales growth, with chair Jason Tarry pointing to the increased cost of doing business (Drapers, September 2026). Government support for the high street has meanwhile focused on vacant properties, with a £210m package to redevelop derelict buildings on top of the £5bn Pride in Place programme (Retail Week, September 2026).

M&S and John Lewis bosses urge UK chancellor to cut tax burden on high street retailers