LABOUR’S BUSINESS RATE GRAB HITTING EALING BUSINESSES AT WORST TIME POSSIBLE

The Labour Government is putting up rates for Ealing businesses by 5%, 2% to be paid this year and the remaining 3% to be paid over the following two years in addition to RPI increases in those years. Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Cllr David Millican said the news was an unnecessary blow during difficult times and that businesses may be forced to cut costs in other ways such as shedding staff. He said:

“Whilst this Conservative Council together with the Mayor of London has been able to freeze in Council Tax for households, the level of Business Rates is set by the Labour Government and hence they are going up. The irony of the situation is that the Government has said it would cap Councils that increased Council Tax by 5% but it is quite happy to hit businesses by that amount itself. It is a wrong-headed move that will place pressure on businesses across Ealing and the people they employ.”

“Whilst this Conservative Council together with the Mayor of London has been able to freeze in Council Tax for households, the level of Business Rates is set by the Labour Government and hence they are going up. The irony of the situation is that the Government has said it would cap Councils that increased Council Tax by 5% but it is quite happy to hit businesses by that amount itself. It is a wrong-headed move that will place pressure on businesses across Ealing and the people they employ.”

Cllr Millican went on to explain that the Council is launching a campaign to encourage small businesses to claim Business Rate Relief. He said:

“Many small businesses are entitled to rate relief – a discount on the amount levied for business rates – but they need to apply to the Council to get it. Shockingly, the Federation of Small Business estimates that up to half of small businesses eligible for relief do not apply because they are unaware of what they are entitled to, or because the process is too complicated.

“The next Conservative Government will introduce automatic relief which will cut down on bureaucracy and ensure that businesses entitled to relief don’t miss out. In the mean time, this Council is embarking on a publicity campaign to remind small businesses that it is worth applying.”

“These are tough times for Ealing’s small shops and other businesses, and we want to see as many as possible survive the current recession and prosper in the future.”