Islington Council has launched a petition with the Islington Chamber of Commerce and Angel Business Improvement District calling on chancellor Philip Hammond to halt the rates revaluation, which is set to take effect from April. According to the council, some businesses in the borough could face a 45% increase in rates compared to values at the last valuation point in 2010.
If ministers decide not to freeze the changes, the authority urged that transitional reliefs be introduced for affected businesses to allow the increase to be spread across a number of years.
Islington’s executive member for economic development Asima Shaikh said revaluation would have “a devastating effect on the character of our community and force small and medium sized companies to close or move elsewhere”.
“We urge the government not to go ahead with these plans and are offering local companies advice on how they can manage the changes ahead,” she added.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously warned that councils could face financial uncertainty from a renewed round of appeals against business rate bills following revaluation.
