Ian Allison, Director Business Rates comments on its impact
Despite featuring early in the budget speech as a big giveaway, the widening of the criteria for Retail Rate Relief to include leisure and hospitality properties, and increasing the relief from 50% to 100% is not the panacea it was made out to be, as it is subject to EC state aid rules. Only the smallest businesses will qualify.
“The Chancellor’s Retail Rate Relief giveaway is not the panacea that it was made out to be: rates on retail are from abolished… “The combination of the £51,000 rateable value threshold and EC state aid rules that cap relief at €200,000 in a three year period ensures that many chain retailers have premises that do not qualify or may have reached the limit last year”.
“Retail Rate Relief was one third off in 2019/20 and was set to be 50% off in 2020/21. The Chancellor must be congratulated for increasing it to 100% from 1 April and widening the criteria to include leisure and hospitality premises.”.
“The thresholds and criteria of Retail Rate Relief ensure that it is of major benefit to genuinely small businesses, and may even exempt those who are closed due to the recent floods”.
“The Chancellor’s 100% Retail Rate Relief giveaway is a massive relief to genuinely small retailers, and now leisure and hospitality occupiers who have one or few premises that stay under the EC state aid limit”.
