Businesses will pay an extra £1.56bn from next year unless the chancellor freezes business rates again, Colliers has warned.
Last autumn Jeremy Hunt froze business rates, which usually increase annually, while increasing the discount for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses from 50% to 75% for 12 months, capped at £110,000 per company.
But business rates are due to increase again next April under the government’s multiplier, which is pegged to inflation in September as measured by the consumer price index.
CPI is estimated to be about 6% for September, leading Colliers to forecast that business rates bills will rise from £26bn in 2023-24 to £27.56bn in 2024-25.
