13/01/2009 - Retailers face £7bn business rates
A retail group has warned that retailers face a £1.6 billion increase in business rates unless the Government freezes rates in April and reinstates tax relief for empty properties.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), if no action is taken bills for the sector would rise from £5.45 billion to £7 billion by 2010/11, because they are calculated using rental values and inflation rates from previous years. New figures would therefore not take into account the recent economic downturn, which has forced inflation rates down.
The BRC said the increase would be made through annual increases, loss of tax relief for empty property and new levies by local councils.
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "Many retailers are struggling with the triple whammy of falling sales, crushed margins and rising costs. The Government must revise its plans to impose a range of extra burdens, which can only increase the pressure on retailers and destroy more of the UK's three million retail jobs.
"Retailers are crucial to livelihoods, customers and communities. We don't expect handouts but we don't want further handicaps."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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