Top industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe blames high taxes for ‘killing’ businesses

One of Britain’s top industrialists has warned that the country’s output is lagging behind Germany’s because of uncompetitive government taxes.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe – Britain’s fourth richest man – hit out at the Conservatives’ economic strategy, saying the country needs to ‘smart up a bit’ on business.

The billionaire, who runs petrochemical empire Ineos, claimed high taxes would ‘kill’ oil and gas companies while businesses elsewhere flourished.

Production has “sadly been slipping for 25 years”, the Manchester United co-owner told Sky News. While at the turn of the century Britain was ‘very comparable in size’ to Germany, today it is ‘only a fraction’ of its European rival.

The North in particular is hampered by this lack of growth, Ratcliffe said.

He added: ‘That’s about issues like energy competitiveness, it’s about issues like: why are you imposing an immensely high tax on the North Sea?’

‘That only prevents people from finding hydrocarbons in the North Sea, in the energy sector.’

He then said Britain wants to “kill the oil and gas companies” with a 75 percent tariff.

By comparison, America pays a corporate tax of about 30 percent.

In 2022, a windfall tax on oil and gas profits from the North Sea was imposed due to a rise in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ratcliffe’s comments echo those of other industry figures this month, with the chairman of top producer Serica Energy accusing ministers of a ‘race to the bottom’.

“British policy will encourage oil and gas investment abroad, bringing jobs, tax revenues and energy security,” David Latin said.

The manufacturing industry employs around 2.6 million people in Britain and contributes £224 billion to production, according to Make UK.

But there are concerns that Britain will lose out as big names move elsewhere to invest in new factories.