Further tax relief for the high street and beyond

In addition to the 100 per cent rates cut for 12 months, grants of £10,000 will be made available to small businesses eligible for small business rate relief.

Further funds of £25,000 grants to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, will also be available.

To enable this, the Government is understood to have written to the EU requesting the lifting of ‘State Aid’ rules.

These rules limit the total amount of discretionary state aid, whether from business rates reliefs or any other sources, to a maximum amount of approximately £180,000 over any rolling three-year period.

These announcements are a huge relief for many businesses and it brings immediate certainty to the finances of those sectors most affected.

However, the discount does not apply to vacant property, and to be eligible, the property must be wholly or mainly used for retail, leisure, or hospitality.

This includes, but is not limited to, the following: shops, charity shops, hair and beauty shops, travel agents, dry cleaners, launderettes, car and tool hire, restaurants, takeaways, art galleries, gyms, sports clubs and guest houses.

As is so often the case with business rates, there will be grey areas and room for interpretation on what constitutes retail, leisure, or hospitality use.

Whether these measures will be sufficient to enable businesses to weather the effects of the virus outbreak remains to be seen, but the government has felt the need to provide more assistance and has acted quickly.

The Government has also announced that it is launching a fundamental review of business rates to report in the autumn.

The terms of reference for the review are published alongside this budget and a call for evidence will be published in the spring.

Daniel Green, of Flude incorporating Garner Wood, is a business rates expert and would be happy to discuss any rating queries.

Contact the Chichester Office on 01243 819000, Portsmouth Office on 02392 629000 or Brighton Office on 01273 727070, or visit www.flude.com

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