‘Charity tax’ rise will hurt antisemitism fight, Rachel Reeves warned in latest Budget pushback

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Jewish Leadership Council has hit out at the so-called “charity tax” measures in the Budget and has warned the chancellor that the tax hikes will damage the fight against antisemitism. Extra costs from a shock rise in employers’ national insurance contributions will hit Jewish charities “fighting bravely” against a rise in antisemitism in Britain, they warn. Between January and June, the Community Security Trust charity recorded 1,978 anti-Jewish hate incidents, up from 964 in the first half of 2023. open image in gallery Rachel Reeves has been warned Jewish charities will be hit In a letter to The Independent, Claudia Mendoza, the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, which represents the largest Jewish organisations in the UK, warns antisemitism “has risen to unprecedented levels since the attacks on Israel in October 2023”, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people. The tax hike will “damage the essential work done by Jewish charities” and lead to contractions “across the whole sector, including all those Jewish charities who are fighting bravely against antisemitism”.