"More than 5,500 small business owners from across the UK have written to the chancellor demanding an urgent review of the forthcoming business rates revaluation, warning that it risks forcing thousands of viable firms to close permanently. The open letter, coordinated by MP Rupert Lowe, has been signed by pub landlords, café owners, shopkeepers and local employers who say they are already operating at breaking point after a decade of relentless cost pressures."
"Business owners describe having endured years of rising rents, soaring energy bills, higher insurance premiums, inflation, staffing pressures, Covid-era debt and successive tax increases. Many say they have adapted where possible, borrowed to stay afloat, cut their own wages and worked longer hours simply to survive. They now warn that the upcoming revaluation could be "the final straw". Unlike online competitors, signatories argue, bricks-and-mortar businesses cannot avoid business rates or relocate to cheaper premises."
More than 5,500 small business owners across the UK have petitioned the chancellor for an urgent review of the upcoming business rates revaluation, warning it risks forcing thousands of viable firms to close. Signatories include pub landlords, café owners, shopkeepers and local employers who report operating at breaking point after a decade of relentless cost pressures. They cite rising rents, soaring energy bills, higher insurance premiums, inflation, staffing pressures, Covid-era debt and successive tax increases. Many have borrowed, cut wages and worked longer hours to survive. They warn modest rate increases could cause job losses, reduced hours, higher prices or permanent closures. The growing number of signatories indicates deep-rooted fear across the small business community.
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