Chancellor considers £1.4 billion tax cut for indie retailers

Chancellor Philip Hammond is considering giving a £1.4 billion tax cut to almost 250,000 small retailers on the high street.

Treasury officials are said to be in discussions over raising the £12,000 threshold at which firms start paying business rates, which is based on the rent value of their property.

This means the small business rate relief (SBRR) could be raised to a threshold of £20,000.

This new threshold would mean an extra 234,226 businesses would be beneath the starting level for paying business rates.

It is thought that this would help the majority of small and medium sized shops, whose average rateable value is £19,520.

It would however cost the treasury an estimated £1.4 billion in lost revenue, but experts said this is essential given that business rates are forecast to rise by over £700 million in April.