What Will the Autumn Budget Say About Inflation for Businesses?

Business leaders are calling on the government to scrap the inflation-linked increase expected in the 2023 Autumn Budget, due to be unveiled on the 22nd November. Anthony Hughes, Managing Director at RVA Surveyors, said the move could lead to disaster for many businesses.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said freezing the rates and extending relief could be a “lifeline” for the hospitality sector.

Business rates are typically the third or fourth biggest expense for commercial property owners or tenants and, at the beginning of 2023, the average national increase for rateable values (RV) in England and Wales was 7.1%. Now, businesses face another potentially even higher increase due to inflation, which has been measured against the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Multipliers for business rates are currently at the highest level since they were introduced in 1990, and the Retail Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief, part of the business support package introduced in the 2022 Autumn Budget, is set to end at the same time. This could add up to £630m to businesses’ outgoing costs, according to UKHospitality.

The government have yet to make a statement on the future of business rates, leaving businesses worried about what to expect in the upcoming Autumn Budget.