Worries have been expressed over the lack of consultation on plans to give local authorities extra powers to raise revenues from businesses.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that it is concerned that details of the government’s proposals for Business Rate Supplements, set out in its recent draft legislative programme, will not be subject to proper scrutiny before they are introduced in the autumn.
Under the proposals, local authorities will be given the power to raise revenues directly from businesses for the first time in almost 20 years.
However, the BRC said it believed that for the new law to be workable and effective it is vital there is adequate opportunity for public debate and scrutiny, something it fears has not happened.
The BRC said it was unhappy with the amount of protection for businesses that the government has included so far in its proposals.
Extra safeguards need to be built into the legislation, the BRC argued, to prevent some local authorities from simply using business as an additional revenue stream.
Despite extensive lobbying, the BRC noted that a number of measures supportive of businesses have not been added to the legislation.
These include a mandatory business vote before the introduction of any Business Rate Supplement; the offsetting of Business Improvement District payments against any Business Rate Supplement levy; and a guarantee that the exemption threshold for businesses with a rateable value of £50k or less will increase in line with overall increases in rateable value.
Stephen Robertson, the BRC’s director general, said: “With retailers facing tough trading conditions, they need less burdens placed on them by Government, not more, so that they can effectively deliver further employment opportunities, skills training and play a vital role in regeneration.”
Mr Robertson added: “There’s a real danger that the proposals outlined in the draft ‘Queen’s Speech’ will lead to cash-strapped local authorities shoring up their finances by raising additional revenue through Business Rate Supplements. To prevent local authority abuse, it’s essential that businesses are given safeguards, such as giving them a vote whenever a business rate supplement is proposed.”
Date:15 May 2008
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