Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves has described the current business rates system as “outdated” and pledged to overhaul it in her speech at the Labour Party conference.
Reeves said high street businesses were being “punished by our outdated system of business rates” and that Labour would “overhaul” the system.
She hinted that the government would look to reduce rates for smaller businesses while hiking them for larger multinationals and tech companies.
The chancellor also highlighted the £22bn “black hole” she says Labour inherited from the Conservatives and said Labour would be the “party of economic responsibility”, reiterating that the party was working on a “new deal for working people”.
Reeves also made moves to put a more positive spin on her pre-Budget rhetoric, insisting there will be “no return to austerity” under a Labour government.
She instead said that the growth of British business and the economy must “be built by many” and “felt by the many”.
The new Labour government’s first Budget is due to be outlined on October 30, 2024.
No comments yet