Over 100,000 jobs could be at risk if chancellor Rachel Reeves imposes higher business rates, the British Retail Consortium and UK Hospitality have said.
As many as 120,000 jobs and 500 locations across retail and hospitality could disappear as the chancellor is expected to raise property taxes on 5,000 large stores, hotels, holiday parks, restaurants, and pubs.
The proposed overhaul of business rates due to come in next April will see companies with bigger properties face a hike in levies to subsidise the cost for smaller ones.
The government has said the reform in rates aims to help revive city centres and allow a better level playing field by making online retail giants with large warehouses, such as Amazon, pay more.
Both retail and hospitality bodies said this risks doing the opposite by forcing these large stores and venues to close sites. They’re calling for these businesses to be excluded from reforms.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Introducing a business rates surtax would only add to inflationary pressures, leading to store closures and job losses.
“We urge the chancellor to exempt these businesses from the surtax, helping safeguard hundreds of anchor stores and the vital jobs they sustain.”
A Treasury spokesperson added: “We’re making business rates fairer by introducing permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure from April, funded by a higher rate on less than 1% of the most valuable business properties.
“We’ve also capped corporation tax at 25%, the lowest in the G7, secured major trade deals with the US, EU and India and seen interest rates cut five times since the election to help businesses across Britain.”
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