Conservatives to unveil plans to cut business rates

In a speech today, Johnson is expected to pledge that a Conservative government would cut business rates by launching a review of the system at its first Budget.

The Tory leader is also set to increase the employment allowance from £3,000 to £4,000, providing a tax cut of around £1,000 for half a million businesses and increase the R&D tax rate from 12% to 13%, according to The Independent.

Last week, the Conservatives also said they will extend the retail discount on business rates to 50% for those organisations with a rateable value of less than £51,000.

Johnson is set to make these pledges in a speech this morning at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, where he will appeal to businesses that a Conservative majority at the next election will deliver “certainty” over Brexit.

Johnson is expected to say: “Let’s not beat around the bush, big business didn’t want Brexit.

“You made that clear in 2016 and this body said it louder than any other. But what is also clear is that what you want now – and have wanted for some time – is certainty.

“So that you can plan and invest, so you can grow and expand, so that you can create jobs and drive prosperity.”

This comes after the head of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn, had been critical of both Johnson and Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s policies.

Fairbairn said that December’s election is an “extraordinary” one for the business community, and hailed 2020 as the most important year in a generation due to ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.

The British Retail Consortium has also been critical of Johnson and the Conservatives, with director of business and regulation Tom Ironside last week calling for the proposals to go “much further”.