SME group calls for next London mayor to lobby for business rates reform
The next mayor of London should focus their energies on improving renting conditions for businesses and lobbying the Treasury for rates reform, according to a leading business advocacy group.
The Federation of Small Business’ (FSB) mayoral manifesto, released today, calls on the next mayor to pressure “major landowners” to sign on to a “supportive small business statement” to provide protections over renting future conditions.
The policy comes on the back of a s survey conducted by the FSB that found 46 per cent of SMEs are are calling for an increase in the availability of commercial space.
FSB’s London policy chair Rowena Howie said: “It’s time to address the issue of big landlords squeezing smaller tenants.
“Without affordable commercial property our valuable small businesses will be forced to close or relocate elsewhere.”
The FSB also calls for the winner of the 7 May election to lobby chancellor Rishi Sunak for business rates reform and create “enterprise zones” that provide tax breaks for up and coming businesses.
The mayoral election will be fought between incumbent Sadiq Khan, Tory Shaun Bailey, independent Rory Stewart, Liberal Democrat Siobhan Benita and Green Sian Berry.
“The business rates system is broken and we need close working between the mayor of London and the Treasury to create a system that works for London and the rest of the UK,” Howie said.
A “fundamental review” of the business rates system was promised by the Conservatives’ election manifesto, however little detail of future plans has been made public.
Business lobby groups complain that the 2017 re-evaluation of business rate calculation led to onerous tax increases on small businesses.
Re-evaluation of property values, which business rates are based on, led to much higher tax bills for many small businesses.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Richard Burge likened the way rates were calculated as “applying the policy of dinosaurs in the age of mammals”.
“Leaving the EU may give us the ability and drive to completely reshape the way we tax business and reflect the modern ‘licence to operate’ competitively and globally,” he said.
“Now that is a goal worth pursuing.”