Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Bad News for Local Shopkeepers?
From the Telegraph this morning:
Business rates rise could spell £1.6bn burden for retailers
The Government's proposed revaluation of business rates will add £1.6bn to shopkeepers' annual bills by 2011 – the equivalent to the average salaries of over 100,000 shop workers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
The BRC's stark assessment coincides with the second reading of the Business Rate Supplements Bill, which is due to take place in the House of Commons today.
The trade body has called for an immediate freeze on all new business rate burdens, particularly as retailers are facing "the most serious crisis in a generation" as a result of the economic downturn. The BRC has calculated that a raft of Government-proposed new measures – including the business rates revaluation and the end of empty prop-erty relief – could add £1.6bn to the £5.45bn that retailers paid in business rates last year.
The trade body said that shop groups already pay a disproportionately high level of rates; retailers pay an estimated 25pc of Britain's £21.8bn business rates but only represent 8pc of the UK's Gross Domestic Product.
"Many retailers are struggling with the triple whammy of falling sales, crushed margins and rising costs," said Stephen Robertson, the director-general of the BRC.
"The Government must revise its plans, which can only increase the pressure on retailers and destroy more of the UK's three million retail jobs.
"We don't expect handouts, but we don't want further handicaps," Mr Robertson added.
Original Story
Business rates rise could spell £1.6bn burden for retailers
The Government's proposed revaluation of business rates will add £1.6bn to shopkeepers' annual bills by 2011 – the equivalent to the average salaries of over 100,000 shop workers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
The BRC's stark assessment coincides with the second reading of the Business Rate Supplements Bill, which is due to take place in the House of Commons today.
The trade body has called for an immediate freeze on all new business rate burdens, particularly as retailers are facing "the most serious crisis in a generation" as a result of the economic downturn. The BRC has calculated that a raft of Government-proposed new measures – including the business rates revaluation and the end of empty prop-erty relief – could add £1.6bn to the £5.45bn that retailers paid in business rates last year.
The trade body said that shop groups already pay a disproportionately high level of rates; retailers pay an estimated 25pc of Britain's £21.8bn business rates but only represent 8pc of the UK's Gross Domestic Product.
"Many retailers are struggling with the triple whammy of falling sales, crushed margins and rising costs," said Stephen Robertson, the director-general of the BRC.
"The Government must revise its plans, which can only increase the pressure on retailers and destroy more of the UK's three million retail jobs.
"We don't expect handouts, but we don't want further handicaps," Mr Robertson added.
Original Story
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