Businesses across the United Kingdom have welcomed the news that the Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief (RHL) will remain in place for another year. This is expected to benefit around one million eligible businesses. The British Beers and Pubs Association expects to save around £350 million a year with the small business rates multiplier also remaining frozen for the next year.
RHL was introduced in the wake of the pandemic and currently offers a seventy-five percent discount on business rates. Although the chancellor has introduced some stricter eligibility criteria, the relief remains in place.
Anthony Hughes, Managing Director at RVA Surveyors commented: “The extension of RHL will give those already in receipt peace of mind that they’re not suddenly going to have to pay one-hundred percent of their liability from next April.”
The standard multiplier was not frozen, and it will increase by 6.7% according to September’s inflation (CPI) figures. This means that businesses with a rateable value (RV) of more than £51,000 will see over £1.5 billion added to their bills from April 2024. The British Retail Consortium have described this decision as “disappointing”.
Although the autumn statement provided short-term fixes, Hughes expressed the need for a long-term overhaul of the business rates system: “Businesses should be able to afford this commercial property tax. Bureaucracy and a lack of accuracy have made this increasingly harder.”
Businesses across the UK have welcomed the extension of the Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief (RHL), which is expected to benefit around one million eligible businesses. The small business rates multiplier has also been frozen for the next year, a move which the British Beers and Pubs Association says will save their sector around £350 million a year.
RHL currently offers a 75 percent discount on business rates and, although the chancellor has introduced some stricter eligibility criteria, the relief remains in place. Anthony Hughes, Managing Director of RVA Surveyors, stated: “The extension of RHL will give those already in receipt peace of mind that they’re not suddenly going to have to pay one-hundred percent of their liability from next April.”
Although the small business rates multiplier was frozen, the standard multiplier was not and will increase by 6.7% according to September’s inflation (CPI) figures. This will mean that businesses with a rateable value (RV) of more than £51,000 will face more than £1.5 billion added to their bills from April 2024. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) have described this as a “disappointing announcement”.
Although the autumn statement provided short-term fixes, Anthony Hughes expressed the need for a long-term overhaul of the business rates system: “Businesses should be able to afford this commercial property tax. Bureaucracy and a lack of accuracy have made this increasingly harder.”
Businesses across the United Kingdom have welcomed the news that the Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief (RHL) will remain in place for another year. This generous relief is expected to benefit around one million eligible businesses, with the small business rates multiplier also frozen for the next year.
RHL currently offers seventy-five percent off business rates and, although the chancellor has introduced some stricter eligibility criteria, the relief remains in place. Anthony Hughes, Managing Director at RVA Surveyors commented: “The extension of RHL will give those already in receipt peace of mind that they’re not suddenly going to have to pay one-hundred percent of their liability from next April.”
The standard multiplier was not frozen, and it will increase by 6.7% according to September’s inflation (CPI) figures. This means that businesses with a rateable value (RV) of more than £51,000 will see over £1.5 billion added to their bills from April 2024. The British Retail Consortium have described this decision as “disappointing”.
Despite the extension of the Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief (RHL) and the freezing of the small business rates multiplier, many in the ratings industry have decried the outdated business rates system, which has seen no definitive action taken in almost a year. Anthony Hughes believes that businesses should be able to afford this commercial property tax and that the system needs a long-term plan: “Bureaucracy and a lack of accuracy have made this increasingly harder. What the autumn statement gave us were short-term fixes; most of them are not sustainable in the long-term.”
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.