The chancellor’s announcement yesterday at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to allow councils to retain Business Rates was stunning.
It could have a massive impact on businesses throughout England.
The CBI has yet to issue a comment, but the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) was quick to make a statement:
“The surprise announcement to allow councils to retain Business Rates presents a huge opportunity for local authorities and business to work together to boost local growth, develop a fairer tax system and create the jobs of the future.
We also know there will be challenges to get the new system right. We want to ensure businesses don’t get short-changed. It is essential the new Rates structure works for all our 5.2m small firms.”
The FSB is right to be concerned about challenges and concerns for small – and not so small – businesses. The impact at the local level cannot be underestimated.
The chancellor has promised to:
• Abolish entirely the uniform business rate – the single national tax imposed on every council.
• Give cities with elected mayors, such as London, Manchester and Sheffield, extra powers to add a premium to rates to pay for new infrastructure projects.
What impact could a change in business rates have on your organisation?
Business rates are a huge driver of change, and most businesses are small. Here’s some data we recently presented for a client project in Milton Keynes.
There are 11,530 businesses in MK:
- – 10 with 1,000+ staff
- – 15 with 500 – 999
- – 40 with 250 – 499
- – 165 with 100 – 249
- – 260 with 50 – 99
- – 715 with 20 – 49
- – 875 with 10 – 19
- – 1,445 with 5 – 9
- – 7,995 with 0 – 4
Small businesses are vital for many reasons, and where they chose to locate and trade from has a huge impact on the local economy and community. Don’t underestimate how important your organisation is to your local area.
Make your voice heard
Now is the time to lobby your councillors and MP to ensure your needs and concerns are understood. With the right approach this lobbying can also be a powerful PR tool and can be good for sales and staff morale, as well as helping to future-proof your business.
If you would like help with any external communications activities for your business, I hope you will get in touch.
