Budget 26: Small business rate relief threshold increased to £18,000 for struggling sectors

The move will cut business rates to zero for 70,000 firms by Labour's calculations. "I'm not just cutting their rates; I'm taking them out of paying business rates altogether. That means half of our shops, restaurants, and gyms pay no business rates at all," the chancellor John Healey said in his Budget speech. All other businesses in these sectors will see their business rates frozen in real terms, he added, so that none face an above-inflation rise for the next two years.  The chancellor is also providing £1m alcohol duty relief for around 2,000 small British brewers and British ...