Jessica Harris discusses how the Autumn Budget fails to live up to expectations on business rates relief in Lawyer Monthly

Jessica’s article was posted in Lawyer Monthly, 28 October 2021, and can be seen here.

Jessica Harris, Associate in our Commercial Property department, reflects on the Autumn Budget’s shortcomings in addressing the urgent need for business rates reform.

While the retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors received a welcome 50% discount on business rates for one year, amounting to a £1.7 billion tax cut, other sectors were left without targeted support. This exclusion is particularly stark given that over 400,000 office occupiers continued to pay full business rates during the pandemic, contributing nearly £8 billion.

Despite a £1.5 billion relief fund announced in March 2021 to support these businesses, the funds remain inaccessible due to parliamentary delays, leaving many firms in financial limbo.

The Budget also failed to deliver the radical overhaul of the business rates system that many had hoped for. Current rateable values, still based on 2015 data, do not reflect the economic realities post-pandemic.

Although a shift to a three-year revaluation cycle from 2023 was announced, critics argue this does not go far enough. Trade bodies and business leaders continue to call for substantial reform, including the introduction of an online sales tax to level the playing field between e-commerce and physical retailers.

Encouragingly, the Budget introduced a new ‘business rates improvement relief’ to support green investments, allowing businesses to install energy-efficient technologies without facing higher rates for 12 months. However, overall, the measures fall short of the comprehensive reform needed to create a fairer, more sustainable tax system for all sectors.

Read the full article on the Lawyer Monthly website [external link].