Rachel Reeves has been warned that further tax hikes will cause retailers to push up prices, cut jobs and halt shop openings.

The latest alert was issued by Andy Higginson, the chairman of JD Sports and the British Retail Consortium industry group.

He said ‘all’ retailers have already been left ‘looking to reduce their labour forces’ following a barrage of tax rises this year.

And now firms fear another raid after the Chancellor’s spending review on Wednesday.

Concerns that bosses are set to be hammered at the next autumn Budget were ignited after Ms Reeves said she had failed to shrink the public spending ‘envelope’. Major retailers, including Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, have already axed staff.

Firms have had to grapple with higher cost pressures in the wake of measures introduced in the Chancellor’s autumn Budget.

A sharp rise in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and a big hike in the national minimum wage mean retailers face a £5 billion higher bill after the Budget, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Rachel Reeves has been warned that further tax hikes will cause retailers to push up prices, cut jobs and halt shop openings

The latest alert was issued by Andy Higginson, the chairman of JD Sports (pictured) and the British Retail Consortium industry group

warned that in the end the Government’s tax hikes ‘do work through’ the supply chain, meaning consumers pay more

Firms have also been disappointed by the Government’s lack of urgent action to reform business rates. Mr Higginson told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘You have seen immediately the impact of the changes made in April, the slowdown that has come straight through to the economy.’

He warned that in the end the Government’s tax hikes ‘do work through’ the supply chain, meaning consumers pay more. Describing the influx of rises introduced in April as a ‘tax on jobs’, Mr Higginson added: ‘All the retailers I know have been looking to reduce their labour forces.’

It comes as dismal employment figures published this week revealed UK payroll numbers have shrunk by 276,000 over the past seven months.

But in recent days, the Chancellor and Prime Minister have claimed that Labour has ‘fixed the foundations’ of the economy.