One of the two remaining Conservative MPs in the race to become Prime Minister has pledged to exempt hundreds of thousands of firms from business rates in a bid to save the UK’s “dying high streets”.
Jeremy Hunt has promised to help shops save up to £6,500 a year under plans to scrap business rates for the UK’s smallest traders. According to Mr Hunt, this would breathe new life into ghost towns and protect tens of thousands of jobs at risk from shop closures.
In a speech at the hustings, the Foreign Secretary said that the UK used to be described as a nation of shopkeepers but too many small shopkeepers are being put out of business by tax bills they cannot afford to pay.
Recent research suggests that the UK’s high streets could lose 200,000 jobs unless the Government acts to revive traditional town centres that have been hit by the rise of internet shopping.
If Mr Hunt’s plans come to fruition, 5,000 businesses in Birmingham, 60,000 in Leeds, 2,000 in Newcastle, 8,000 in Manchester and 3,500 in Bristol would not have to pay taxes.
His proposal would see the Government reform the current Retail Discount rate by retaining the qualifying rateable value threshold at £51,000. However, rather than giving those businesses one third off their bill, the whole bill would be cancelled, covering 90 per cent of this type of business.
Mr Hunt has already set out plans to cut corporation tax to 12.5 per cent, giving businesses of all sizes a benefit if he wins the Tory leadership race. In another speech, he said that he wanted to “land an economic jumbo jet on Europe’s doorstep” to use in trade talks.
