The Chancellor announced that he is extending the business rates holiday until the end of June, followed by a further six-month period where rates will be discounted to one third of the normal charge. This is great news for bricks and mortar businesses across the country but the Chancellor should have gone further.

Prof. Len Shackleton, IEA Editorial and Research Fellow, was quoted in The Times saying the latest holiday extension was kicking the can down the road: “If the government is serious about giving the high street a new lease of life, they could seriously consider abolishing business rates altogether”.

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