The government has announced a business rates support package worth £4.3 billion over the next five years to support small businesses and the high street. The small business multiplier will be frozen for a fourth consecutive year, and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief will be extended. The standard rate multiplier will be uprated in line with CPI inflation.
For 2024-25, the small business multiplier in England will be frozen for a fourth consecutive year at 49.9p, while the standard multiplier will be uprated by September CPI to 54.6p.
The current 75% relief for eligible Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties is being extended for 2024-25, a tax cut worth £2.4 billion. Around 230,000 RHL properties in England will be eligible to receive support up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
Many larger retail businesses and large supermarkets benefitted from the 2023 business rates revaluation and the £13.6 billion package of support provided at Autumn Budget 2022, which together decreased total bills paid by the retail sector by an estimated 20% and large supermarkets by an estimated 15%. A third of properties in England have already been taken out of rates completely through Small Business Rates Relief, and the government has also frozen the tax rate for the last three years, extended the relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties and removed downwards caps from Transitional Relief.
The government has also agreed the detailed terms of the long-term business rates retention arrangements for the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities, delivering on the commitment in the Spring Budget 2023. These arrangements will commence from April 2024.