One for the surprising folder. Alistair Darling has today announced a measure for businesses which seems fairly useful. And he’s done so with little expectation and even less fanfare. So what is it? Well, the 5% increase in business rates, planned for this year, has been spread out over three years. So businesses will face a 2 percent rise this year, with the remaining 3 percent coming over the following two years. The numbers suggest that over 1.5 millions buildings will be affected, with businesses “saving” £600 million this year.
Of course, it shouldn’t be forgotten that business rates are still going to rise, and there’ll be other catches as well (e.g. I expect this will be paid for by yet more borrowing). But this still offers some relief for beleagued businesses – who will have been anticipating the eyewatering 5 percent rise – and it’s a helluva lot cheaper than many of the pointless schemes we’ve seen over the past few months.
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