Autumn Statement - PwC comments on Business Rates

Phil Vernon, Head of Specialist Business Rates Projects at PwC, says:

“Freezing the small business rates multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value under £51,000 for a further year will be welcome news for many small businesses. However this won’t be across the board and those small businesses hit hardest by the revaluation in April this year could still see their rates bills rise by as much as 26.6% in April 2024 as Transitional Relief, which was introduced to help businesses suffering large revaluation increases, is phased out.

“For the remaining 220,000 properties who are paying the standard multiplier, the Chancellor has perhaps surprisingly decided not to intervene in the planned increase of 6.7%, based on the CPI inflation level at 30 September 2023. With inflation falling, many expected this increase to be curbed, but going ahead with this will raise the tax rate from 51.2p in the pound to 54.6p from April 2024.

“The extension to retail, leisure and hospitality relief will be welcomed by smaller businesses in these sectors but continuing to cap the relief at £110,000 per business means it will not extend to many parts of the sector, including those with large property portfolios. The relief will also continue to be unavailable to other players in the supply chain who supply these businesses and who could be forced to pass their increased costs on to the sector.”