The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is one of a number of signatories on a letter to the three main political parties, making a case for business rates reform.
The challenges businesses face as the UK negotiates its future relationship with Europe has made reducing the burden of business rates and fundamentally reforming the system even more critical, the letter says.
It adds: how the next government decides to address the complexity and unfairness of the existing system is therefore a key question for businesses.
The signatories say that, fundamentally, this means three things for the next government:
- look across the business taxation system to ensure fairness, and inventivise growth and investment;
- increase the frequency of revaluations, beginning in 2020, alongside a straightforward valuation process;
- move business rates to CPI indexation, beginning in 2018, with a flat rate beginning in 2020.
The other signatories are: the British Retail Consortium; British Chambers of Commerce; Federation of Small Businesses; Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers; British Property Federation; Association of Convenience Stores; and retail property trade group Revo.
