BCC ramping up business rates rhetoric

The Director General of the British Chambers, Shevaun Havilland, is calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to act over business rates.

A long-standing policy of Chambers across the country, the higher rates have led to high streets struggling to stay afloat before shops even make a profit.

Writing in City AM, Shevaun said: “The current system, a property tax on non-domestic properties, is a relic of a bygone era. It calculates a business’s annual tax bill based on the rental value of its property, not its profitability. This is its fundamental, fatal flaw.

“The current system, a property tax on non-domestic properties, is a relic of a bygone era. It calculates a business’s annual tax bill based on the rental value of its property, not its profitability. This is its fundamental, fatal flaw.

“Retail businesses, small and large, are sounding the alarm. What is needed is not another temporary fix, but a comprehensive overhaul of the business rates system to help ease the pressure on businesses and support them to grow and invest.