By David Williams
26 June 2009
Business leaders have reacted with dismay after MPs amended a Bill to make it easier for councils to impose extra taxes on local firms.The House of Lords had inserted a set of industry-friendly measures to the Business Rate Supplements Bill, but on June 17 the Commons reversed these.
The Bill, expected to become law later this month, gives top-tier local authorities the power to impose an additional 2p levy on business, to be spent on local transport and infrastructure projects.
The CBI, which represents UK business, had welcomed the Lords’ amendments, which would have given firms the final say on whether a project should receive BRS funding.
But the Bill as it now stands would allow businesses to have a say only on schemes for which more than a third of funding came from BRS.
CBI deputy director general John Cridland said: ‘The rejection of these amendments pokes a finger in the eye of British business at a difficult time.’ The changes ‘would have helped avoid unnecessary, misguided tax supplements that could lead to further job losses’.
However, the Local Government Association said it was not in councils’ interests to make life difficult for business. A spokesman told Public Finance: ‘The last thing councils would want to do at a time like this is clobber businesses with more taxes. Councils wouldn’t want to railroad something through if business wouldn’t be happy with it.’
