Hundreds of pharmacies are facing closure because of soaring business rates, with owners warning that high taxes are forcing them to cut services for vulnerable patients.
Almost half of the 420 pharmacy owners surveyed by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said they were considering shutting down their practices because of higher business rates bills. The trade body found 55 per cent were considering moving to cheaper premises, raising fears that some rural and coastal communities could be left without a local branch.
Pharmacies, many of which are family-run businesses, are unable to offset the higher tax burden by raising prices, which are fixed by the NHS. Roughly 90 per cent of pharmacies’ income comes from the health service, the NPA said, leaving owners with no commercial lever to pull when fixed costs rise.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made lowering business rates for high-street businesses a key pillar of his summer policy blitz, announcing a 20 per cent reduction for pubs, clubs and live music venues from April next year. Pharmacies have been excluded from the relief.
The tax squeeze has intensified since business rates were increased for many properties after Rachel Reeves’s second Budget. Bills have also been affected by the latest revaluation of commercial property, which fed new rateable values into bills from April. GPs and NHS dentists, meanwhile, have their business rates reimbursed.
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