Report by Laura Chesters
DEALERS have warned that “tinkering around the edges” of the current business rates system will not help small businesses. As many as a quarter of firms in the south of England and London are expected to face significant rises when new levels, the first changes for seven years, take effect in April.
Amid a backlash from the business community, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is expected to use March’s Budget to include tweaks to the system. These could include lengthening the transitional period for companies that will face a rise.