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An investor and business guru has said Labour’s Budget policies feel like ‘wave after wave of Zulu warriors’ attacking entrepreneurs trying to make the British ecomony grow. Mayfair-based millionaire entrepreneur Wolfgang Douglas, founder of the Wolf Mindset Business Academy, said the Budget was Keir Starmer 2.0 rather than a change of direction under Andy Burnham.

He compared businesses to feeling like the small garrison of just 140 British soldiers who had to hold off thousands of feared Zulu warriors during the iconic 1879 battle of the Rorke’s Drift supply depot in South Africa. Despite overwhelming odds, the soldiers successfully defended the depot earning 11 Victoria Crosses, which is still a record awarded to a regiment for a single action. The conflict was made famous by the 1964 film Zulu, starring Michael Caine.

He said: “I am in Mayfair surrounded by people who are pro-business minded, but we feel like the British soldiers at Rorke’s Drift at the moment, being attacked by wave after wave of bad Labour economic policies which are like the Zulus.”

Referencing a famous Sun headline against the Labour leader Neil Kinnock during the General Election campaign of 1992, Mr Douglas added: “It feels like will the last millionaire leaving the country please turn out the light.

“The highest income 1% account for more than a quarter, 26.6% projected by HMRC for 26/27, of all projected Income Tax. Britain has a clear interest in keeping these successful entrepreneurs building businesses and investing here, that’s where we have been failing the most

“But my concern is that the Chancellor’s initiatives to build, employ or re-invest remain too weak, and my expectations are that entrepreneurs will continue to move abroad.

“Higher bank surcharges from 3% to 6% can affect business finance, my concern is whether taxing lenders more will make it harder for businesses to get finance and make it more expensive for businesses to grow.

“Corporation Tax is an existing pressure on retained profits, but the question is whether the existing overall tax system leaves enough incentive and capital to expand.

“Holding an existing rate steady does not by itself improve that incentive. The main rate is 25%, at that rate £100,000 of taxable profit produces £25,000 of Corporation Tax…that’s the Labour way.”

Despite John Healey seemingly throwing a bone to business with the rate relief threshold rising from £12,000 to £18,000 for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses, Mr Douglas said the real-world costs of running a small firm where still rocketing.

Healey also announced a 3.9% above inflation increase in the minimum wage, which will also extend to young workers, aged between 18 and 20.

“For an employer with 10-staff, the minimum wage increases will add almost £11,000 to their annual cost in wages and employer National Insurance,” he said, “to sustain those increases the business would need stronger productivity and sales.

“But if you break it down, if the adult legal minimum hourly rate is up to £13.20 from £12.71, that’s 49p more per hour. For 10 affected employees paid for 37.5 hours an average week over 52 weeks a year, that adds up to £9,555 in wages, or approximately £11,000, including the employers, national insurance, at the current rate of 15%.

“Now before employer pension contributions, and assuming you have the allowances you have already used, you’ve got to go out and earn even more despite them telling us businesses are being taxed less.”

For entrepreneurs starting and selling businesses, Mr Douglas also pointed to a potential problems with Mr Healey going after the banks.

He said: “Higher bank surcharges from 3% to 6% can affect business finance, my concern is whether taxing lenders more will make it harder for businesses to get finance and make it more expensive for businesses to grow.”

The Chancellor has kept the Business Asset Disposal (BAD) relief at 18%, which was raised last year by his predecessor Rachel Reeves.

Mr Douglous said: “The reward for building and selling businesses has been reduced. An entrepreneur can spend years risking their own money and building businesses.

“The business asset disposal relief is now 18% compared with 10% before the last Budget. If you put that on £1,000,000 business, it means that person selling that business is paying £180,000 in tax, instead of £100,000.”