BRC puts pressure on government over business rates
Published: 21 September, 2010
The BRC is worried that the current system for calculating business rates threatens a double-blow for retailers at a time when the public sector is facing substantial cuts.
For some retailers, business rates bills could rise by almost 22 per cent next April.
The BRC will write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government today, urging him to use alternatives to September’s RPI when calculating the next rise in commercial property taxes for England and Wales.
Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director general, said: “One large retailer estimates every extra RPI percentage point could add £1.3m to their business rates costs. September’s RPI is expected to be above four per cent but few retailers have budgeted for increases as large as four to five per cent.
“We’re urging the government to use alternatives to September’s RPI to calculate next April’s bills. The coalition has already changed the way pensions are calculated. It’s now using CPI rather than RPI – this change could also apply to business rates. Another option is to use the 12-month average RPI rate from October 2009 to September 2010 – which would help to iron out inflation volatility.
“For the longer-term, retailers need more predictability and a permanent move to a more stable way of calculating business rates.”
