Struggling high street business rates take a hit

Business leaders lashed out at Prime Minister Kwasi Kwarten’s mini-budget after he failed to outline plans to reform business fees.

Retail mogul and former Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis said he was “extremely disappointed.” He argued that it “undoubtedly had a much better impact on the economy and employment” than other reforms in the package.

High street businesses face a £800m rise in business rates next year. The rise is linked to inflation, which has hovered around his 9.9%, his highest in 40 years.

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There are fears that sectors hit by lockdown measures and now struggling as inflation hits consumer spending will succumb under the weight of the additional tax burden.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said it was “inevitable” that costs would “eventually be passed on to families in the form of higher prices”, urging the government to intervene. I asked

She said the interest rate freeze “stimulates investment and allows retailers to focus on what’s important: keeping prices down.”

Small Business Federation policy and advocacy chair Tina McKenzie said interest rate reform was a “clear next step to boost growth,” raising the threshold for small business interest rate reductions and reducing interest payments. asked to remove it completely.

“Corporate tax rate reform was a manifesto pledge in 2019, so we expect Team Truss to turn to this in the fall,” she added.

David Gregory, an associate at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said the failure was “a blow to small businesses that wanted additional support.”

UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nichols says the prime minister has “overlooked two obvious steps” to make Britain’s tax system globally competitive: one is One is the reform of business fees and the other is the reduction of VAT.

Kwarteng has announced VAT-exempt shopping for international visitors, but Nichols said the reduction in domestic shoppers along with changes in business rates will give a faster boost.

“Our VAT rates are among the highest in the modern economy, so if we want a globally competitive market, we need a fair alternative to lower VAT and business tax rates,” she said. I was. “Without such measures, thousands of businesses and many more jobs would be lost.”