Some of the biggest industrial companies operating in the UK have written to chancellor George Osborne urging business rate reform, specifically addressing the higher taxes faced by those investing in machinery.
The 14 signatories – including Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata and GM, who make Vauxhall cars – requested a meeting with the chancellor ahead of the autumn statement.
Jerry Schurder, head of business rates at Gerald Eve, said in response to the letter: “For companies to be effectively penalised for investing in new plant machinery – especially when such investment is often undertaken to meet new environmental standards without contributing to additional profit – is frankly perverse.”
