Andy Burnham has launched a review into how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels, in an attempt to make the tax fairer for two sectors hit hard by this year’s revaluation.
The prime minister has appointed Jerry Schurder, a business rates expert who has repeatedly called for reform of the levy, to lead an independent review into valuations. Schurder will report his recommendations to the Treasury by March 2027, in time for them to be implemented at the next revaluation.
Government insiders said they expected the review to lead to a major change in business rates, given his previous comments and the evidence he has submitted to earlier government consultations.
Schurder has called for “fundamental reform, not tinkering”, including pressing for business rates to be cut significantly to ensure competitiveness with local property taxes in the EU.
He has stopped short of saying business rates should be scrapped altogether. He has said revaluations should be undertaken annually, and that the revenue HMRC takes from business rates should fluctuate directly in line with changes in property values. Both proposals, if adopted, would change the tax from a fixed sum the Treasury collects regardless of market conditions into one that moves with the property cycle.
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