One of the largest companies investing in the UK has called for reform of Britain’s business rates, arguing they are deterring investment and undermining efforts to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing.
Tata Steel, India’s largest private sector steelmaker, said business rates for large manufacturers in the UK were five to 10 times higher than the equivalent taxes in continental Europe.
It said a key issue was that in the UK, manufacturing plant and machinery were considered “rateable”. If a company invested to upgrade them, that pushed up the rateable value of their premises, leading to higher business rates.
Andy Pickford, Tata Steel’s director of property, said: “A change for the better would be to do away with this disincentive to invest by removing manufacturing plant and machinery from rates assessments.”
The call was backed by Tim Tozer, chairman of General Motors in Britain who urged the government “to undertake a full reform and simplify and modernise the current outdated and complex system”.
The intervention is seen as particularly significant because demands for business rates reform tend to come from the retail sector rather than manufacturing.
Tata Steel said high business rates could affect investment decisions. Unlike most other taxes, they do not fluctuate and so are often counted as fixed costs – a big consideration when companies are deciding where to invest.
The government has tinkered with business rates, capping increases at 2 per cent in last year’s autumn financial statement and introducing a £1,000 annual discount for small retailers, which was intended to reinvigorate high streets. But both retailers and manufacturers have long urged a complete rethink of business rates policy.
Source: FT
- metaljunction »
- Metal News
Metal News & Events
METALJUNCTION PUBLICATIONS
Coal Insights (English) Monthly
![Steel Insights](/assets/images/news/coal-insights.jpg)
Coal Insights is a ready reckoner for anyone associated with coal. This publication is aimed at tracking everything related to coal in India.
India Coal Market Watch(English) Monthly
![Steel Insights](/assets/images/news/ICMW_Jan09.gif)
ICMW is a one-stop source for all news, data and research pertaining to coal demand, consumption, stocks, spot- and long-term prices with respect to the Indian Market.
India Steel Market Watch (English) Monthly
![Steel Insights](/assets/images/news/ISMW.gif)
ISMW is a brand new high-end steel market report, covering all aspects of the steel industry in India.
Steel Insights(English) Monthly
![Steel Insights](/assets/images/news/SteelInsights.jpg)
Steel Insights delves into various facets of the domestic and global steel industry such as market fundamentals, raw material price trends, price forecasts etc.