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In his Autumn Statement of November 17, 2022, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt set out a number of measures aimed at ensuring businesses pay their fair share when it comes to achieving the Government’s key aims of reducing national debt and achieving fiscal sustainability. However, the Government remained committed to supporting businesses to invest and grow, and recognized that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are facing particular pressure in the current environment. Against that backdrop, the Chancellor introduced his business rates support package, which should be a real positive for the hospitality sector.
Freezing business rates multipliers
Business rates multipliers will be frozen in 2023-2024 at 49.9 pence and 51.2 pence, preventing them from increasing to 52.9 pence and 54.2 pence. This amounts to a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over the next five years and forms the basis of the Government’s business rates support package. The freeze will support all ratepayers (including those in the hospitality sector), regardless of size, and make bills 6 percent lower than they would otherwise have been, before any further specific reliefs are applied.
Transitional relief scheme
Bill increases caused by changes in rateable values at the April 1, 2023 revaluation will be capped at 5 percent, 15 percent and 30 percent respectively, for small, medium and large properties in 2023-2024. These targeted caps will be applied before any other reliefs and will support 700,000 ratepayers.
Retail, hospitality and leisure relief
Business rates relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will be extended and increased from 50 percent to 75 percent, up to £110,000 per business in 2023-24. This support will be available to around 230,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, and its total value is estimated at £2.1 billion.
- The UK Government's £13.6 billion support package reduces business rates with specific additional relief for the hospitality sector.
- The cornerstone of the package is the freezing of business rate multipliers in 2023-2024, which will deliver a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over five years.
- Business rates relief for eligible hospitality businesses will also be increased in 2023-2024 from 50 percent to 75 percent, up to £110,000 per business.