Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Debate
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Sarah Edwards
Main Page: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)Department Debates - View all Sarah Edwards's debates with the HM Treasury
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
Sarah Edwards Excerpts(1 day, 15 hours ago)
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Dan Tomlinson
I will happily talk further with the hon. Member about any changes that we can make to give councils more powers in relation to the issue he raises. It is not a topic that has crossed my desk before, but I would be happy to receive some correspondence on it.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
Two weeks ago, I held a roundtable for hospitality businesses in Tamworth to discuss the broken business rates system, and I then wrote to the Department about their preferences for support. The rates are crippling, and those businesses asked me to ask the Minister when reform is coming and how they will receive support in the interim, which is essential for my constituency and our businesses.
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for the engagement that she has carried out with businesses in her constituency, as a strong representative of the businesses and people of Tamworth. The Government set out some significant reforms in the Budget. We lowered the tax rate that is paid by businesses on our high streets by 5p compared with what it would otherwise have been. That means that the tax rate paid by businesses on our high street is a quarter lower than that paid by the very largest businesses, which can afford higher taxes. That is why we rebalanced the system, transferring £1 billion of extra tax revenue from the largest businesses to high street businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country.