Party plans to cut business rates

THE Liberal Democrats have published plans to cut taxes for businesses by 40 percent in Hinckley and Bosworth.

The party produced blueprint for replacing the business rates system, cutting taxes for businesses in the borough.

Hinckley Lib Dem county councillor Michael Mullaney described the plans as “exactly the sort of policy we need to boost local investment and ensure businesses in Hinckley and Bosworth thrive”.

The Taxing Land, Not Investment report calls for the abolition of busi- ness rates and its replacement with a tax on land values, the Commercial Landowner Levy (CLL).

The levy would remove buildings and machinery from calculations and tax only the land value of commercial sites, boosting investment and cutting taxes for businesses.

Liberal Democrat members will debate and vote on the proposals at the party’s Autumn Conference in Brighton.

Cllr Mullaney said: “Time and again I have heard concerns about the devastating impact of business rates on struggling high streets and the wider local economy.

“It is the responsibility of the current Conservative Government to ensure that our businesses are able to thrive, but ministers are not doing anywhere near enough.”

He said: “We are campaigning to create the environment needed for local businesses to grow and create jobs in Hinckley and Bosworth.

“I’m particularly delighted that under these Lib Dem proposals the cut in taxes for businesses in Hinckley and Bosworth of 40 per cent would be one of the biggest in the country”.