More than 2,000 Small Businesses in Eastleigh should get £684 Rate Relief

12.12.37pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 10th Aug 2004

Lib Dem Plan Would Save Small Businesses £684

A business rate allowance would save more than 2,000 small businesses in Eastleigh an average of £684 a year in business rate payments, according to plans unveiled by the Liberal Democrats.

Chris Huhne MEP and David Chidgey MP, pictured with small business owners Barry and Sharon Saunders outside their Hairtalk salon in Twyford Road and with Cllr Glynn Davies-Dear, have launched a campaign for a fair business rates relief for small businesses.

'The Government's proposals for a modest rate relief simply do not go far enough in what is a highly unfair tax on small businesses' said Mr Huhne. 'Small businesses pay five times as much as big businesses in business rates, measured as a proportion of their turnover. It is time to redress the balance'.

Mr Huhne said that the proposals would be of particular benefit in south Hampshire because of the large number of small businesses. 'In Eastleigh, for example, more than 90 per cent of the businesses employ fewer than ten people. Small businesses are the heart and soul of the local economy'.

Mr Huhne said that the Liberal Democrats were the only party to take small business concerns seriously both locally and nationally. The Lib Dem proposals would introduce a £1500 business rate allowance. At the current national tax rate, this would save businesses with less than £25,000 rateable value some £684 a year on average.

By contrast, the Government's proposals would still leave small businesses paying much more than big ones, while the Conservatives had yet to make any proposals in this area.

'More than three quarters of all businesses would benefit from this rate relief, which would be funded by a modest increase in the rates on larger businesses so that it would be revenue-neutral. This would be a small recognition of the enormous job-creating capability of small businesses' said Mr Huhne. Some 84 per cent of all businesses nationally would be eligible for the rate relief.

Mr Huhne said the key point is the public interest in nurturing small businesses, which inevitably find that all kinds of overhead costs from business rates to finding the time to fill in VAT and other tax returns weigh much more heavily on them than on big businesses. 'Small business is the future and the lifeblood of the local economy' Mr Huhne said.

The Eastleigh Liberal Democrats have traditionally made small business a priority for the borough council, supporting the Wessex House business centre as an incubation unit, and running Southern Entrepreneurs on behalf of several local councils in South Hampshire with support from the European Social Fund. The council has been awarded 'beacon' status for its work encouraging business growth, only one of five councils nationwide to receive the award.