Pressure is mounting on the Chancellor after the Telegraph yesterday added its voice to the growing chorus calling for a freeze in Business Rates.
In making the call, the newspaper joins the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), and the British Property Federation (BPF) who have all spoken out about the unfairness of the tax in recent months.
The Telegraph made the call ahead of next month’s Autumn Statement, appealing to George Osborne to announce a two-year freeze to business rates to allow time for a debate on how to reform the tax.
In doing so, the newspaper cites the views of the independent Centre for Retail Research which estimates that between 6,000 and 8,000 shops could close next year. A freeze in business rates, the group argues, could save 2,000 of these and safeguard up to 10,000 jobs in the process.
Veteran retail boss Bill Grimsey is quoted as saying that Business Rates have been a ‘blind spot’ in policy for many years.
Pointing towards the unpopular revaluation postponement, he adds; “Everyone knows this tax has lost all credibility as it no longer bears any relation to property values. It’s now become an anti-business tax.”
Shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, makes the Chancellor’s position more uncomfortable by saying there is nothing to prevent him from matching the Labour Party’s pledge to cut and freeze Business Rates in the Autumn Statement. If he does, Mr Umunna says, the Opposition will support him.
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A freeze on business rates is sorely needed – high rates are crippling the small businesses that support the economy.