Rishi Sunak commits to reducing business rates if elected PM

Rishi Sunak has vowed to slash business rates this autumn during the Conservative leadership debate at the Darlington Hippodrome theatre.

The former chancellor committed to extending the current 50% reduction in his first budget as prime minister, saying that small retailers are the “beating hearts of all our communities”.

Sunak said: “Particularly those businesses in the hospitality and the retail sector, those on our high streets and our town centres, that is the number one tax they talked to me about when I was chancellor. 

“That’s why in the pandemic I did an enormous amount to help support that industry, because I know how important it is to our communities, the jobs that it provides. It’s why this year I cut business rates for those businesses by 50% as chancellor, that’s the biggest tax cut on business rates outside of coronavirus that we’ve ever seen in this country.”

Sunak warned Liz Truss’s economic plans would see the Conservatives get “absolutely hammered” at the next election, adding that supporting high streets would be “top of my mind” when asked whether he would cut taxes on struggling shops.

It comes after the Retail Jobs Alliance, a coalition of retailers including Morrisons, Greggs and Tesco, urged both leadership candidates to pledge to cut business rates. 

In a letter, the group said companies are facing an increase in their business rates bill next April of about 10% from inflation alone.

The alliance said in the letter: “The next government must prioritise fundamental changes to the ‘shops tax’. A permanent reduction in business rates for all retailers, regardless of their size, would make a big difference to retailers’ ability to invest more in shops and stores as well as to create jobs.

“You have both talked of your intention to cut taxes in order to stimulate private investment. If taxes are to be cut, we think a reduction in business rates should be prioritised.”

In his speech, Sunak said: “In the autumn we will need to set in place the business rates for the next few years and the top of my mind is always going to be supporting our high streets and town centres.

“Because they are the beating hearts of all our communities, all our market towns, all our villages, everything. It’s the Conservative thing to do to make sure our communities are strong. The best way to help them is through business rates. That’s what I did as chancellor and that’s what I’ll do as prime minister.”

Truss has also pledged to reform business rates if she wins the Conservative leadership race.