Chancellor

Businesses rates to better reflect property value under new law

Business rates payers in England will have bills that more accurately reflect current property values under new legislation introduced by ministers yesterday (12 June 2019). Property revaluations will increase to every three years, from the current five years, and the next revaluation will be brought forward a year from 2022…

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Retailers left waiting for rates discounts as deadline approaches

Businesses in England were promised millions of pounds in support by the chancellor last October but, less than two weeks before the start of the new tax year on 1 April, many are still either waiting for discounts worth up to £8,000 or haven’t yet applied. The government announced a…

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Digital Services Tax extended to include 2% ‘Amazon tax’

High streets government minister, Jake Berry, has promised to extend the Digital Services Tax to include a “2% tax on online retail” to save Britain’s high streets. Berry confirmed that the tax, announced at last October’s Autumn Budget, would be extended to online retailers saying if the government cannot secure…

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Online retail tax could be unlawful under EU rules, Treasury warns

The government has said taxing online giants, like Amazon, through a sales tax could be illegal under EU rules. Under European Union State aid rules it is illegal for EU countries to give financial advantage to some companies and not others in a way which could distort fair competition. The…

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Mike Ashley’s Flannels given £125k rates relief despite £65m turnover

Mike Ashley’s high end fashion chain Flannels has been handed £125,000 in business rates “help” by a local council amid fears that a former pub and nightclub it bought back in 2016 would be left derelict. Doncaster Council agreed the funding to Flannels’ over a “derelict” site at Priory Walk,…

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Government clarifies details of new business rates relief

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance on the details of how business rates discounts first announced in this year’s Budget will be allocated. During the Budget on 29 October, chancellor Philip Hammond announced that businesses with a rateable value of under £51,000 would receive…

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Consumer confidence drops marking ‘season of uncertainty’

Market research firm GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Index has shown that confidence decreased by three points in November 2018 to -13. There were declines recorded across all five measures used to calculate the Index including general economic situation and personal financial situation. The index measuring changes in personal finances during…

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Digital taxation, and what it means for small retailers

The chancellor’s Budget announcements will have certainly set a few pulses racing in the independent retail sector, for several reasons. Among the measures likely to have piqued the interests of British retailers were a property rates reduction for small businesses, a £675m ‘future high street’ investment plan, and a proposal…

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EU rules could ‘thwart’ Hammond’s business rates promise

Hammond’s plan to help high streets through a near £1bn, two year business rates cut, is set to be thwarted by European Union state aid rules, real estate agents Altus Group have claimed. The chancellor will slash business rates next April by discounting bills by a third for those retail…

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All Saints sees profits fall by over half

Clothing retailer All Saints has seen its profits fall by over half to £10.6m in the year to February 2018. Sales rose by 8% to £327m during the same period, falling short of the £500m target owners Lion Capital had set. The investment firm bought a majority stake in All…

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