Bira, an association representing more than 6,000 independent retailers across the UK, has warned that the average independent retailer could face a business rates bill 25% higher next year than this year, before inflation is taken into account.
The warning sets out the cost pressure the association says small shops are carrying into the Budget. Independent gift shops and greetings card retailers, which the association identifies as already working with tight margins, are among those for whom the settlement could determine whether they can manage costs and keep investing in their businesses.
What the association is asking for
- Targeted relief on business rates;
- an increase in the Employment Allowance, which Bira links to reducing staffing costs;
- greater flexibility for small businesses to switch energy suppliers.
Bira has also welcomed reports that the government plans to fund business rates cuts by requiring online marketplaces to collect VAT. The association wants confirmation that the money raised through that route would go directly towards rates relief for high street businesses.
The reported plan to fund rates cuts through marketplace VAT has not been confirmed in the terms Bira describes, and the association's three requests remain proposals rather than agreed measures. The group's position is that relief should be targeted, that staffing costs should be eased through the Employment Allowance, and that small firms should find it easier to change energy supplier.
For gift and greetings card independents, the association frames the Budget as a test of whether those businesses can absorb higher rates while continuing to invest.