The Chancellor announced cuts in business rates to try to help high street businesses.
Bills will be cut by one-third for retail properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 from April 2019 for a two-year period. The Chancellor estimates that this will benefit up to 90% of retail properties.
A review of the criteria for when self-catering and holiday lets are subject to business rates rather than council tax will also take place. This is to ensure the existing rules are not being exploited by falsely declaring the property is available for let.
Lastly, 100% business rates relief was announced for public lavatories, with the Chancellor joking that local authorities could at last relieve themselves, they shouldn’t get bogged down in it and that it was about the only thing in his Budget speech that hadn’t been leaked!