Pubs, clubs and live music venues are celebrating a 20% cut in business rates from the new prime minister, Andy Burnham – a tax break that will be partly funded by squeezing vape shops and other businesses deemed to make “a negative contribution” to communities.
The move, which Burnham announced as his third major policy in as many days, will save the typical pub about £1,100 a year. Some 32,000 businesses qualify, though the largest music venues are excluded for now, with further details due in the budget.
“Andy Burnham cuts business rates for pubs by 20%, funded by cracking down on vape shops and tax-avoidant online sellers.”
“For years and years, pubs have paid a disproportionately higher rate which has ground down their ability to keep the doors open,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association. “So we’re delighted that after working with Andy Burnham’s team prior to his election as Labour Party leader, he has swiftly acted on our concerns.”
McClarkin called the cut “a brilliant start to the new prime minister’s tenure, living up to the statements that he’s made before about pubs, pints and people.”
The £100m annual cost of the relief will be offset by reviewing business rate reliefs for “anti-social businesses”, Downing Street said, singling out vape shops. The government will also examine how to raise more tax from online marketplace sellers who “do not comply with their tax obligations, putting them at an unfair advantage over businesses that play by the rules.”
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, welcomed the “meaningful relief” and said the inclusion of clubs alongside pubs and live-music venues demonstrated “broader recognition of the vital economic, cultural and social contribution made by the night-time economy.”
“This is just the start,” Burnham said. “For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets. So today I am changing that.”
Lobbyists are already pressing to make the one-year relief permanent. The question now is whether the promised crackdown on vape shops and online tax avoiders will raise enough to sustain it.