Small business rate relief gains momentum

Plans to make Small Business Rate Relief automatically available to eligible firms are likely to be included in this year’s Budget, after the Bill gained support from over 100 MPs.

FSB head of parliamentary affairs, Stephen Alambritis, said that the Bill, read in the House of Commons on 6 March, takes it one step closer to being included in this year’s Budget.

“If it doesn’t have full Government support it won’t proceed,” said Alambritis. “However, the Minister for Local Government is likely to say that they will look at it in their Budget submission. If it doesn’t go through initially, all the information is there to make it simple for the Chancellor to adopt it – and otherwise the next Government might implement it.”

According to the FSB, around £400 million of rate relief goes unclaimed each year, because businesses do not realise they are eligible. Small firms could save £1,200 a year by claiming it.

The FSB has called on small businesses to put continual pressure on their local MPs to support the Bill.
“Small firms can write to their MPs to ask them to sign the motion, or get their MP to write to the Minister for Local Government,” said FSB deputy head of public affairs Holly Lee.

“If the Bill doesn’t go any further, they can still put pressure on the Department of Communities and Local Government which is responsible for it,” she added.

In England, small businesses are generally entitled to rate relief if the rateable value of their premises is less than £15,000 (£21,500 in London).

You can  download a template letter to send to your MP petitioning them for the introduction of automatic Small Business Rate Relief.

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