Supermarkets blast 'punitive' business rates
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Britain's biggest supermarkets have ramped up pressure on Rachel Reeves to overhaul the 'punitive' business rates regime. Retailers are facing soaring costs in the wake of the Chancellor's Budget in October. And now, the bosses of Tesco and Sainsbury's said looming increases to the levy – which is based on the value of a property and therefore hits bricks-and-mortar stores harder than online operators – could make large sites unviable.
Retailers, from independent shopkeepers to nationwide chains, face an increase in business rates in April alongside a barrage of other costs imposed by Reeves. This includes the increase in National Insurance paid by employers and inflation-busting rises in the minimum wage.
In total, retailers are facing a £7billion rise in costs, and are calling on Reeves to ease the burden by reforming business rates. Under pressure: Retailers are facing soaring costs in the wake of the Chancellor's Budget in October. Announcing a bumper set of Christmas trading figures, Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts described the levy as a 'fundamentally difficult and unfair tax on retail'.
He said it will have to 'look very carefully' at future hiring decisions given the increased costs the business is facing. 'The size and scale of costs coming at the industry is a real concern,' said Roberts. 'We're going to do everything we can to mitigate the impact, but there's no doubt that there's a lot of inflation building in the system.'.
