From: Michele Wietscher, Director,
Newview Windows & Conservatories

SMEs are the backbone of the economy but the upcoming business rates rises – which come into effect on April 1st – can only have an adverse impact. Businesses will find a way to survive them but it could mean saving money elsewhere.

The construction industry is the third largest contributor to the UK economy but the many SMEs in this sector who are renting their units will now have an extra burden to cope with. Combine this with other mandatory costs such as auto-enrolment and the National Living Wage and it’s a cocktail of indirect and direct tax rises hitting small and medium-sized businesses.

It is not just construction companies who will be hit hard by the rise in business rates; it’s expected a third of independent high-street shops could be killed off by the move, damaging local economies in the process.

Rather than calculating rateable values every five years, which leads to sudden, massive hikes in rates, it should be done on an annual self-assessment basis, so that the tax can better reflect the ebbs and flows of economic activity.

Another solution is to scrap business rates completely and replace it with a low, flat percentage charge, which would go a long way towards reducing the burden on SMEs.