A Business Rate Rise on 1st April is Economic Madness

The government has announced that it will allow a record 5% rise in business rates
to go ahead on April 1st causing widespread anger among business groups, who claim that many companies will not be able to afford the rise in such difficult economic times.

The 5% increase in the rate will be the biggest since the current system was set-up in 1993. The increase in the rate is based on Retail Price Inflation figures from last September, when prices were very high.

However, since last September the UK economy has officially entered recession and unemployment now stands at over 2m. There are fears that the increase in the rate will cause some small businesses to cease trading.

"Labour is dragging local firms down the road to ruin. It is the height of economic madness to be increasing taxes on local firms in the depth of recession," said Caroline Spelman, shadow communities spokeswoman.

Source: www.newbusiness.co.uk

www.ukba.co.uk