Business rates are complex, unpredictable and inequitable. Find out what the CBI is doing about it.
The challenge businesses are facing
Business rates are complex, unpredictable and inequitable. The cost burden has risen further following the announcement in the 2023 Autumn Statement to increase the standard multiplier.
Many businesses – including 46% of retailers – say that they would have no choice but to pass on the business rates cost increase in full.
In addition, the time taken to announce rateable value changes following revaluation makes it hard for businesses to forecast and plan around, the multipliers for business rates across the UK are punitive, and the patchwork approach to exemptions and reliefs has created an overly complex system to comply with.
What the CBI is asking for
The business rates system, introduced in the 1990s in its current form, represents a growing financial and administrative burden, and one that has not managed to adapt to new ways of working (for example e-commerce and working from home arrangements). The way it seeks to raise th
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