Currys Boss Lashes Out at UK Government on Tax Hike, Minimum Wage Increase

Katie Linsell
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officer of UK electronics retailer Currys Plc warned that the barrage of costs and red tape that retailers have to deal with will fuel inflation in the country.

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Companies in the industry face higher costs due to a rising minimum wage and tax increases starting in April, as well as from a government proposal to stop retailers charging customers for recycling.

CEO Alex Baldock called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to change his mind on the recycling plan, saying it was too late to reverse course on the minimum wage.

“The biggest inflationary pressures are coming from government themselves,” Baldock said on a call with reporters Thursday.

“The combination of the minimum wage, the rate hike and some very misjudged proposals on recycling, all of them are adding to an already overburdened sector which is the largest private sector employer in the country and on which presumably we depend heavily in the UK to lead us out of economic difficulty,” Baldock said.

Currys recycles half of all electrical waste in the UK, offering what the CEO called a good service to customers.

Baldock’s comments come after British retail and hospitality bosses warned last month that prices may rise after the government’s decision to increase wages for almost 3 million people.

“Retail is already overburdened, it pays 10% of business tax despite being 5% of the economy, and loading these new costs onto retail at this time is simply going to be counterproductive,” Baldock said. “It’s going to fuel inflation, reduce investment, it’s going to reduce jobs.”

Currys shares jumped as much as 10% on Thursday after the company said annual profit will be ahead of market expectations following a robust Christmas period. Mobile sales were particularly strong in the UK and Ireland while TV and computers were weaker.

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