Chancellor Rachel Reeves must take tangible steps – including relaxing hikes on business rates and property taxes – to deliver the “substance” of Prime Minster Keir Starmer’s pledge to “back British business,” Sir Andy Street said today.
Street said the PM “made all the right noises” in his speech last week, but had not yet delivered the real-life tangibles of these words.
Time to back up talk with ‘substance’
“He hasn’t backed British business in what Rachel Reeves has done so far. It’s been a series of incredibly bad moves,” Street told WM News.
“She must now be thinking: ‘How do I demonstrate the substance of what the PM has said?’
“Relaxation in business rates increases would be a good thing to do. Relaxation of the business property relief increase – another good thing to do.”
Retail properties have enjoyed business rates relief since 2020, currently benefiting from a 75% discount capped at £110,000 per business. This is due to expire in April 2025. The move from a 75% discount to 40% still means that many businesses will see their business rates nearly double.
In her autumn budget, Reeves announced reforms to business property relief. From April 6 2026 the 100% relief will apply only to the first £1 million of a business’s value. Any value above this threshold will be eligible for relief at only 50% with the remaining 50% subject to inheritance tax.
SME boss: ‘Businesses will only invest more in return for tax reliefs’
Mike Gahir, Managing Director of Lakes Showering Spaces, an award-winning bathroom and shower room business based in Tewksbury, Gloucestershire, said: “UK productivity has lagged behind the US for some time. Productivity comes from investment and businesses will only invest more in return for tax reliefs.”
Mr Gahir, on another key issue hurting SMEs, added: “Winding back on employer national insurance will give an immediate impetus to employment numbers and a return through PAYE. The move, albeit a reversal, will show small businesses, who employ over 90% of the UK workforce, that the Chancellor understands business.”
