MORE than 80% of Scottish business professionals believe that weeks of speculation and apparent U-turns on tax rises have had a negative effect on business confidence.

In the run-up to tomorrow's Budget, more than 200 business professionals gathered in Glasgow last week to explore ways of maintaining and driving forward business momentum.

Questioned in a pre-Budget survey, a majority hit out at briefings carried out by the UK Government and Chancellor Rachel Reeves , and 83% said they felt that constant floating of tax raising initiatives had been harmful.

Around 16% felt that they had had no effect.

A significant minority – 33.33% of respondents – conceded that the Chancellor may have acted for reasons of political integrity, but the majority, 58.33%, felt it was driven by fear

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