Retail bosses ramp up pressure on Healey to cut ‘ridiculous’ tax burden

The bosses of Marks Spencer and John Lewis have piled further pressure on the government to slash the “ridiculous” tax burden facing high street firms. Stuart Machin, chief executive of M S, called on Chancellor John Healey to “restore hope” within the retail industry by turning a corner from Labour’s last two budgets, which he dubbed a “disaster”. The strongly-worded intervention, coming less than three weeks before the Budget, will put further pressure on Andy Burnham to deliver on his pledge to rejuvenate Britain’s high streets and town centres. While the Prime Minister has focussed these efforts on tax breaks for pubs and crackdowns on gambling shops, retailers have warned Burnham that he must help the high street’s biggest operators lead this revival. Writing in the Daily Mail, Machin said: “I’ve never hidden what I thought of the last two budgets. They were a disaster. Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations instead. I know money