Posts at pubs, hotels, shops and restaurants are all at risk after the chancellor's crippling changes to business rates, which are set to cost firms tens of thousands of pounds more each year.

Thousands of jobs could be lost across East Anglia as a result of the chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget (Image: Luke Jones/PA Wire)

Business figures are now calling for the chancellor to resign, accusing her of misleading the British public to justify billions in budget tax rises and not being honest about the impact of the rates changes.

Sacha Lord, chairman of the UK's Night Time Industries Association, said: "In an act of shocking betrayal, the chancellor has sentenced countless pubs, restaurants, hotels, cafes and coffee shops to death, hiking rates by tens of thousands of pounds for individual businesses."

READ MORE: Rebellion over Rachel Reeves' rates raid as one firm says its bill will rise to £1m

Leading figures from business have accused the chancellor of delivering a budget of “smoke and mirrors”, burying "hidden clauses" relating to business rates, which were revealed by the Eastern Daily Press last week.

In the House of Commons last Wednesday, Ms Reeves claimed she was introducing the "lowest tax rates since 1991" by permanently reducing rates for more than 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties.

The chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: House of Commons/PA Wire)

However, the introduction of a new, much higher assessment of the value of buildings used to calculate business rates means the tax will actually increase significantly next year for most high street firms.

Ms Reeves also failed to mention that........

© Eastern Daily Press