Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the retail business rates multiplier on the non-domestic rating valuation of different retail property types.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.

We are paying for this through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. This includes many large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants. The high value multiplier is 33% more than the multiplier for small RHL properties.