UKH welcomes Labour’s plan to reform business rates
The trade body has criticised the current business rates system, saying that it ‘unfairly penalises businesses that have a physical presence in communities’
UKHospitality has welcomed the Labour party’s plan for high streets and its intention of fixing the business rates system, as the industry body called the current system “archaic”.
News follows the Labour party’s announcement of its plan for high streets, including replacing business rates with a new system of business property taxation with the aim of rebalancing “the burden and levels the playing field”.
UKH has criticised the current business rates system, saying that it “unfairly penalises businesses that have a physical presence in communities, like hospitality”.
Allen Simpson, deputy CEO of UKH, said: “Hospitality helps create places where people want to live, work and invest, but too often policies make it expensive to run businesses in the heart of communities.
“We need to see governments in Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff, alongside local authorities, do all they can to rebalance and reduce the costs that businesses are paying.”
He added: “Reforming business rates is an ideal place to start and will enable businesses to spend more of their available cash on investment, rather than just paying the bills.”
