Business West, the organisation behind the Swindon Initiative, is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to freeze business rates for two years in his Autumn Statement next month.
It also wants him to launch an extensive review to completely reform the business rates system by 2015 and replace it with a more responsive and transparent system.
Business West managing director Phil Smith said there was no question that the business rates system was broken and the region’s businesses were looking for a solution from the Chancellor, pictured, in his speech on December 5. 
“This is a tax that hits companies of all sizes long before they a make profit, and acts as a drag on business growth and investment,” he said.
“Firms across the UK have been crying out for relief from these burdensome taxes for years, but so far their pleas have been ignored. It is cynical to freeze council tax while allowing the pain caused by business rates to continue, and goes against pro-business pledges made by the Government.
“The cost of spiralling business rate bills is without a doubt the most commonly cited issue facing firms’ ability to grow. We have just seen that RPI inflation dropped off in October after a spike in September. But it is the higher figure used to determine the additional tax that businesses pay. Now, firms across the country have reached boiling point, and demand action to reform the system as a whole.
“The Chancellor should use the Autumn Statement to announce a two-year freeze on business rates, along with a root and branch reform of the entire system. We need a new framework that is more flexible, transparent and responsive to changes in the economic environment. We know this costs money, but there is scope to do it within the Government’s fiscal plan. That way, businesses can put more money into driving economic growth, which benefits UK plc far more than the cost to the Treasury.”
