The CBI has challenged local government minister Nick Raynsford over proposals to raise business rates.

In a letter to the FT, director general Digby Jones accuses ministers of a "lack of joined-up government" by considering tax rises and trying to encourage enterprise.

He claims the government has raised an extra £40 billion from industry since 1997.

"While locally, council tax has risen sharply, at the national level it is business that has borne the brunt of the government's tax increases," he says.