Solent: Vail Williams finds Budget’s relief for small businesses inadequate

Vail Williams has welcomed the chancellor’s relief for small businesses, but regretted that there were not the widely-anticipated reforms to business rates from April 2017.

Simon Moffatt, lead partner, business rates consultancy, commented: “At face value, the announcement on the new threshold for the Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) is welcome news, although for many small businesses it’s probably too little and too late.

“Disappointingly, the chancellor has failed to address the promised whole-scale review of national non-domestic business rates. The details of the much anticipated ‘root and branch’ reform of the business-rates system did not feature in the Budget. As a consequence, we can only assume the new ‘Check, Challenge, Appeal’ process will be implemented for the 2017 revaluation."