English pubs will save £39m annually from small business levies announced in Budget 2016
Changes to the way the government levies business rates announced in the Budget this week will save England's pubs over £39m per year.
The measures, which will come into force in April 2017, will see 81 per cent of pubs benefiting from either the small business multiplier, or Small Business Rate Relief, or both, according to an analysis by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
The new threshold for small business rates will see 630,000 small businesses paying no business rates at all from next year, in a reduction Osborne claims will save £7bn per year for businesses.
Overall, four out of five English pubs will be better off by an average of £1,100 a year. Over 16,500 pubs will pay no business rates at all – some 40 per cent of the total. There are currently only around 3,700 premises paying no rates, so this is a sharp increase.
"These changes are a real boost, especially for much-loved community locals," Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, said.
"They reflect much of what BBPA called for in its response to the recent government review, and show that the government is listening to concerns when it comes to both the big burden of the current rates regime, and also the vital role that pubs play in local communities."