To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fairness of business rates in England.
Answered on
13 July 2018
The Government undertook a fundamental review of business rates in 2016 and decided to retain business rates as a property tax. Recognising the pressures on business the Government has since introduced a range of business rates reforms and measures to support businesses worth over £10 billion by 2023, including permanently doubling Small Business Rate Relief and raising the threshold for relief, meaning that 600,000 small businesses now pay no rates, and helping all businesses by switching the measure of inflation from Retail Price Index to Consumer Price Index.