£1bn boost as business rates targeted

Chancellor George Osborne has announced a package of reforms to business rates which he says is designed to help businesses grow and create jobs and to provide support for the high street in the face of the switch to online sales.

In the Autumn Statement, Osborne confirmed the cap on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) increase in business rates in England will be 2% in 2014–15. With effect from 1 April 2014 businesses will be able to pay in 12 monthly instalments, rather than over ten months as at present.