Business rates reform – who's listening?

Clinging to hope by the fingernails – the Autumn Budget is ‘likely’ to include further scrutiny but don’t hold your breath.

Chancellor Philip Hammond may bend to pressure in his Autumn Budget after finally admitting that business rates are unfair on high street retailers.

But as is so often the case with a nervous Government like ours, he will probably do nothing and stick with what he sees as ‘the stability of local government funding’ that feeds £25bn to the Treasury annually, including £8bn from retailers.

A glimmer of hope emerged when Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan MP said the committee is “increasingly concerned with the financial burden that business rates are placing on high street businesses”.