A business rates rise benefits nobody

I campaigned hard for a business rates review, and even tried to claim credit for it — or at least for its pro-northern bias — when details emerged last September. The smallest enterprises are exempt and the provinces will gain some benefit; but it’s clear that new rateable values from 1 April will impose undeservedly harsh rises on mid-sized businesses in London and the south-east. I’m even feeling a twinge of sympathy for Victoria Beckham, whose Dover Street boutique reportedly faces a 415 per cent hike. Philip Hammond, meanwhile, is in ‘listening mode’ — not least, we might imagine, when accosted by furious shopkeepers in his Runnymede and Weybridge constituency — and is expected to introduce extra reliefs in his Budget next week.

But he won’t back down from his defence that the review is ‘revenue neutral’, redistributive in a good way, and adverse only for businesses in prosperous areas. Well maybe, but I suggest he considers two points.