Ministers have rejected reports that 67,000 small firms in England could see over-inflation business rate rises in the next year.
Analysis from property consultancy Gerald Eve published yesterday suggested steep rate rises could be imminent thanks to the combined impact of the end of transitional relief for small businesses in April 2015 and postponement of property value recalculation.
The Financial Times reported that this would leave 6,500 small firms paying at least a third more while 600 would see bills double.
However, housing minister Kris Hopkins this morning branded the analysis ‘fundamentally flawed’.
‘It fails to take into account that transitional relief, put in place by the last government, was funded by caps on firms due large bill decreases known as “downward phasing” – transitional relief may be due to end, but so are those discount restrictions,’ Hopkins said of the claims.
‘A 2015 rating revaluation would have meant soaring bills for local firms, with almost three times as many firms seeing their bills shoot up as fall.
‘This Government has cut business rates for small firms, and capped the increase in rates below inflation this year. Decisions about any future discounts will be taken in the normal way, as part of the budget process.’
