Business rates will be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and live music venues across London and beyond from April next year, Downing Street has announced.
The discount will apply to nearly 32,000 hospitality businesses and is expected to save a typical pub some £1,100 annually, but will not be available to the very largest live music venues.
The overhaul of business rates will be funded through a review of reliefs for businesses that “do not make a positive contribution to local communities” such as vape shops and a crackdown on online marketplaces that do not comply with tax obligations, No 10 said.
Prime Minister's Pledge
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had previously pledged to raise taxes on out-of-town warehouses for online giants such as Amazon to help pay for cuts to rates for hospitality firms.
Mr Burnham said: “I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.”
Millionaires Call for Higher Taxes
Meanwhile, Gary Lineker is among 120 UK-based millionaires calling on Mr Burnham to impose higher taxes on their wealth in an open letter.
The “Proud to Pay” letter to the Prime Minister, organised by the Patriotic Millionaires UK campaign group, claims the money raised from higher taxes on wealth could be used to reduce inequality, support public infrastructure, and back small businesses.
It reads: “We want you to tax us. We can afford it.”
