Firms face new £730m tax blow

Rates bill shock for hammered high st

BUSINESS rates are set to hit a record high after a near £730million surge next year.

Struggling shops will be among those hardest hit, with fears another wave of stores could be tipped over the edge. Industry chiefs called next year’s increases “eye watering”, and demanded Chancellor Philip Hammond freeze rates in this month’s Budget. UK firms already pay £30billion a year in business rates. Those in England face rises again next April, based on last month’s 2.4% rate of inflation, which was confirmed yesterday.

Rates are calculated by using the market rent of a property and then applying a multiplier. Next April’s increase will mean the standard tax rate on larger premises in England will rise above 50% for the first time since the system was introduced in 1990, when it was just under 35%.

Industry experts Altus Group says, of the £728m rate rise next April, £186m will fall on the retail sector, £174m on offices and £153m on industry.

After London and the South East, the region facing the biggest increase is the North West.

The Mirror is calling for reform of business rates as part of our High Street Fightback campaign, especially as big online firms often pay a fraction of what their high street rivals face.

For example, Amazon pays £38m in business rates while Tesco shells out £700m.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The burden of the business rates system, which is in urgent need of reform, is leading to store closures and hindering the reinvention of the retail industry.

“We need a freeze in the business rates multiplier until the next revaluation to help save shops, protect jobs and future-proof retail, and to give the Government time to work with industry to reform the business tax system and make it fit for purpose in the 21st century.”