Business rates made it in today’s Queen’s Speech. Here’s a summary for the 2021 Parliamentary session:
Eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England will benefit from business rates relief worth over £6bn in 2021-22. This includes a three-month extension of the current 100 per cent business rates holiday from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021.
This will be followed by 66 per cent relief for the period 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022 for eligible properties, with a cap of £2 million for businesses that were required to close on 5 January 2020, and up to £105,000 relief for businesses that were permitted to open.
The Government also announced a new £1.5 billion relief fund to be awarded to non-retail, hospitality and leisure properties most affected by COVID-19. The relief, which will be awarded by Local Authorities on a discretionary basis, will ensure support is available to those not within scope of the £16bn of support already announced for eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
To further support businesses, the Government has also decided to freeze the business rates multiplier in 2021-22, saving businesses in England an estimated £575m over the next five years.