Government accused of treating high street as cash cow

Rochdale’s MP Simon Danczuk has accused the Government of treating the high street as a “cash cow that can be squeezed to death in recession”, after ministers postponed a revaluation of business rates until 2017.

The Labour MP, who takes an active interest in the high street, said the Community Secretary's decision to cancel next year’s business rates review was deliberately calculated to make sure rates were pegged back to a pre-recession, near property peak of 2008.

“It really is scandalous that on a day where latest figures show more than 30 chain stores a day are closing that Eric Pickles decides to give the sector another kick in the teeth by postponing a long overdue revaluation of business rates,” he said.

“Business rates are far too high and simply do not reflect the current economic climate. Everyone knows this but rather than calculating them at 2013 rentable values, which are likely to be more realistic, the Government are holding out for another property boom in 2015 so they're at a higher level when they introduce it in 2017. It’s a cynical ploy to maximise tax returns, but the reality is that this will force more people out of business.

“Traders have already had to shoulder a cumulative increase of more than half a billion pounds in business rates over the last two years, including last year’s biggest rise in 20 years. Traders constantly tell me it’s gone too far and enough is enough. If out of touch ministers can’t see that the high street needs urgent support not a prolonged dose of unsustainable, high taxes then they will be responsible for killing off a major part of the British economy.”