ACS has warned that the announcement of a new Retail, Hospitality and Leisure business rates multiplier in today’s Budget does not go far enough to provide meaningful support for local shops.
The new business rates multiplier will be set just 5p lower than the small business and regular multipliers, which fails to offset the removal of the remaining 40% relief on business rates that was first introduced during the pandemic.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Changes to the business rates system provide nowhere near enough support and are a major disappointment. Small shops will see their rates bills increase in April, and many will see further increases as a result of the revaluation.”
The new multiplier explained…
A convenience store has a rateable value of £30,000. Under the current system, they use the small business multiplier (0.499) to get an initial rates bill of £14,970, which is then reduced by 40% through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief, resulting in a bill of £8,982.
Under the new system, the convenience store with a rateable value of £30,000 would use the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multiplier (0.382) to get a rates bill of £11,460.
ACS has welcomed the announcement of new powers to tackle the illicit trade in vapes, which include fines of up to £10,000 and new digital duty stamps to make it easier to spot fakes.
Mr Lowman continued: "We welcome targeted action to disrupt the illicit trade that undermines responsible retailers across the country, but new powers and penalties will only be effective if Trading Standards officers have the additional resources they need to enforce locally."
Other measures announced in the Budget include:
• Fuel duty to be frozen until September 2026
• Tobacco duties to rise by RPI plus 2%
• Alcohol duties to rise by RPI
• 100% business rates relief for EV charging points and EV only forecourts for the next 10 years
The full Budget document is available here
