Plans to raise business rates scrapped

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board is set to confirm that an additional tax on businesses in the region will not go ahead.

A proposal for a blanket increase of 4% for businesses over the whole region had been discussed for a number of years as a way to fund the metro and other transport, housing and regeneration projects.

It would be the equivalent of businesses paying an additional £34m per year.

The WMCA said manufacturers with large floor spaces and large retailers who are anchor tenants in high streets across the region would benefit most from the decision not to increase the rates.

It said it was able to make this commitment partly because Mayor Andy Street and the WMCA had attracted over £1.8bn of extra Government investment in the region since May 2017.

The WMCA Board, chaired by the mayor, has the power to raise a Business Rate Supplement to invest in new infrastructure projects, but will not vote through a raise on Friday.

“I have spoken often about the impact business rates are having on the high street and on manufacturers, and I am glad that we have agreement across the WMCA that this additional tax is unnecessary,” said mayor Street.

“The West Midlands has come together to bring in more money from Government and is looking to attract private sector investment. As we leave the EU, we will push to secure funding which is coming back from Brussels.”

In the coming months the WMCA will be applying for further Government funding at the Comprehensive Spending Review later in 2019, doing deals with UK and international investors for hundreds of millions of pounds to pay for transport infrastructure projects as well as helping to secure support from the future Shared Prosperity Fund, being set up to replace EU structural support after Brexit.