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Industry chiefs want Labor and the Tories to make manifesto promises to review the business rates they pay on commercial properties such as shops and bars. Yesterday, calls led to politicians promising reforms after a double whammy of higher property taxes and higher wages hit the sector.
They want Labor and the Tories to make manifesto promises to review the business rates they pay on commercial properties such as shops and bars.
Industry chiefs said they will be forced to raise prices for customers after rates rose 6.7 percent yesterday – costing businesses in England an extra £1.7 billion.
The minimum wage has also risen from £10.42 for people aged 23 and over to £11.44 per hour and from £10.18 for 21 and 22 year olds.
It was the largest increase in the minimum wage – or the National Living Wage as it is known – ever recorded.
Under pressure: Pub bosses want Labor and Tories to make manifesto pledges to review the business rates they pay on commercial properties such as shops and bars
The Conservatives have promised to overhaul the business rates system in three manifestos since 2015, but the industry says little has been done.
Kate Nicholls, the boss of trade body UK Hospitality, said: ‘A thorough review needs to be carried out.’
She is leading calls for a lower multiplier – the pence per pound charged to businesses – as a first step to easing the burden.
And she has had “active and constructive” discussions on the subject with the Shadow Cabinet team.
Clive Chesser, boss of Punch Pubs, said it was ‘indisputable’ that the pub sector was bearing a disproportionate tax burden and urgent change was needed.
“It is time to move away from a system that is outdated in so many ways, and to introduce fairer tax systems that promote economic growth and protect our high streets,” he said.
Simon Dodd, boss of pub group Young’s, said: ‘It is painfully clear that the current business rates system is in urgent need of reform.
“This is something that needs to be urgently addressed in manifestos ahead of the upcoming elections to secure the long-term future of businesses and livelihoods across the country.”
Jonathan Lawson, chief executive of pub owners Liberation Group, said: ‘In my opinion this is one of the least business-friendly governments I have worked with.
‘On hospitality, they fail completely to understand the contribution our industry makes to economic growth and employment, and instead give us an uneven playing field from a tax perspective and a continued lack of reform with regarding business rates.’
Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer chief Stuart Machin claimed that doing business in Britain is ‘like running up an escalator with a backpack on your back’.
The government said it has extended help, meaning around 230,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will get a 75 per cent discount on bills this year. But firms say this only goes one step further, until the brink of collapse in April 2025.