Businesses in Wales will get rates support worth £460m over the next two financial years, the Welsh government will announce in its upcoming draft budget.
The package includes freezing the business rates multiplier for 2023-24, worth over £200m.
The Welsh government is also providing over £140m of rates relief for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Eligible businesses will receive 75% relief for the duration of 2023-24, capped at £110,000 per ratepayer, like a similar scheme announced by UK government.
Another £113m will go into funding transitional relief over the next two years for all businesses whose liability rises by more than £300 at the next revaluation on 1 April 2023. It will see any bill increases introduced in phases over two years, with businesses paying 33% of their additional liability in year one, 66% in year two and 100% in year three.
Minister for finance and local government Rebecca Evans said it would boost businesses struggling to cope with high inflation and surging energy costs.
“We know that businesses are feeling the pressure of spiralling energy costs and rising inflation, while they are still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic,” Evans said.
“We want businesses to know now that we will continue to apply substantial discounts to their rates bills, and that this package of support will help businesses to thrive in the hard times we know they are facing.”
Minister for economy Vaughan Gething said: “We want Wales to be an attractive place to live, study, work and invest, with businesses supported to deliver a stronger, fairer, greener Welsh economy.
“The additional support we have announced today will help us provide more certainty for businesses despite rising costs. I remain fully committed to moving the economy forward by supporting businesses to grow and thrive.”
Welsh Retail Consortium head Sara Jones said: “The announcements on business rates show the Welsh government has heard and listened to the concerns and representations of the retail industry. This is a welcome cashflow and confidence fillip for the industry at a time when it is under immense pressure.
“Retailers are working incredibly hard to support customers – expanding value ranges, fixing the prices of essential items, and offering discounts to vulnerable households. This Budget decision on rates supports that commitment by easing the upwards pressure on prices in the short term, and helps retailers in Wales protect jobs, keep shops open, and protect the vibrancy of local communities.”
It comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £14bn in rates cuts over the next five years in the UK government’s autumn budget last month, as well as an end to so-called downwards phasing, meaning businesses whose rates fall will immediately pay the lower amount.
The draft ratings list for 2023 that followed that announcement revealed that, while bricks & mortar retailers are to be the biggest winners in the next revaluation, the logistics sector will see its rateable values rise an average 27.1%. It has led warehouse occupiers to warn they are at risk of financial collapse, posing a threat of supply chain disruption.
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