James Wild MP has urged the government to abandon its punitive approach to small businesses, calling on the Chancellor to scrap business rates to support shops, pubs, and restaurants across the country.
In his role as Shadow Treasury Minister, he challenged the government’s decision to almost double business rates for retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses warning that higher taxes will not help struggling local high streets. He argued that, alongside scrapping these rates, ministers should focus on measures that offer genuine support to local communities and high street businesses.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James Wild MP said:
"When the Chancellor imposed £40 billion of tax rises, she chose to double business rates for leisure, retail and hospitality businesses - and she is going to come back for more. It may be in vain, but perhaps I can offer her a policy suggestion: scrap business rates to benefitf 250,000 shops, pubs and restaurants. Rather than hike taxes, will she adopt Conservative policy and control welfare spending so that we can back our small businesses?"
In response, Exchequer Secretary James Murray MP said:
"The business rates relief we inherited from the previous Government when we came into office was due to end entirely in April of this year. It is only because of us that it was extended for a year while we put in place permanently lower multipliers for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Those are businesses on high streets right across our country, and that will be announced at the Budget on 26 November."
At the Budget last year, the Chancellor scrapped the 75 per discount for retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses and halved the discount to just 40 per cent.
