The CBI's John Allan argues business rates reform can't come soon enough

In a speech at a CBI conference dedicated to addressing the challenge of business rates, CBI President John Allan could not have been clearer about member experiences of the current system.

“The business rates system has – over time – become uneconomical, unsustainable, and frankly, unintelligible," he said. "In short, it’s a system in need of reform.”

He argued the case for serious reform on two fronts. Firstly, the long gaps between revaluations means rates don’t reflect property values – punishing areas of the country that are already struggling, but also eventually undermining those that are on the way up.

“It’s the way that business rates currently work against the economic cycle that makes the tax uniquely damaging,” he explained. “Just compare this approach with other types of tax. Fuel duty, or corporation tax, for example. They increase when business is booming in proportion to the amount of fuel you buy, or