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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Darling cuts business rate rise | Darling cuts business rate rise |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Chancellor Alistair Darling has gone back on plans to increase business rates by 5% from 1 April. | |
| Mr Darling said the rise was linked to the Retail Prices Index last year, but RPI inflation had now fallen to zero. | Mr Darling said the rise was linked to the Retail Prices Index last year, but RPI inflation had now fallen to zero. |
| He said businesses would face only a 2% rise this year and the remaining 3% would be smoothed out over the following two years. | He said businesses would face only a 2% rise this year and the remaining 3% would be smoothed out over the following two years. |
| "I believe this will provide real and genuine help for businesses in this country," said Mr Darling. | "I believe this will provide real and genuine help for businesses in this country," said Mr Darling. |
| He estimated that one-and-a-half million properties would gain from the change and £600m would be deferred. | He estimated that one-and-a-half million properties would gain from the change and £600m would be deferred. |
| "I am very conscious of the fact that businesses in this country were faced with an increase to business rates of 5% simply because the increase in business rates is linked to the rate of RPI inflation last autumn, last September," he said. | |
| "But RPI inflation has now fallen to 0% in the last month and it is expected that it will fall further than that." |