Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), has hailed the Budget’s business rates announcements as a win for independent retailers
In the Budget, delivered by Chancellor John Healey this week, Small Business Rates Relief will be extended to businesses with a rateable value of up to £18,000, up from £12,000. Businesses above that threshold will see rate increases linked to inflation, at 3.5% next year, avoiding a potential 25% increase.
The Chancellor said the changes would take around 70,000 more businesses out of business rates altogether, meaning half of all shops, restaurants and gyms will pay no business rates.
Andrew said: “We’re pleased to see Small Business Rates Relief increased by 50%, and all other rates increases next year linked to inflation. Bira raised these issues as genuine concerns in the run-up to the Budget, and we’re delighted that the Treasury has listened. This is a real win for independent retailers. We would rather not have seen any increases at all, and we will push for that next year.”
The National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage will rise by 3.9%, an increase of 50p per hour for workers aged 21 and over, with lower increases for those aged 18 to 20. However, there were no changes to employer National Insurance contributions or to energy costs.
Andrew commented: “On the negative side, the lack of measures to reduce the cost of employment and energy is disappointing. Increasing the Employment Allowance would have been a real help to small employers, and this was a missed opportunity.”
Andrew added that Bira supported measures to ease the cost-of-living pressures on consumers, expressing hope that they would boost confidence during the crucial golden quarter for retail.
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