How does the Welsh Government intend to use the business tax system to ease pressure on small businesses and stimulate growth?
Our permanent Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) already provides over £140m of relief to around 70,000 properties, with over 50,000 of these paying no rates at all. The cost of SBRR is fully funded by the Welsh Government and is equivalent to 10% of total non-domestic rates revenue collected.
SBRR is part of a wider package of non-domestic rates support worth £384m in 2024-25. As a consequence, almost half of all ratepayers, including small businesses across Wales, benefit from full rates relief. When partial relief is included, ratepayers for more than 80% of properties benefit. That equates to 104,000 properties across Wales getting full or partial relief. To put it another way, less than 20% of properties will attract full rates liability.
We have also introduced a new Improvement Relief, to help incentivise growth and investment in the tax-base. It will support eligible ratepayers investing in improvements to their properties, by providing 12 months relief from the effect of any resulting ratable value increases on their liabilities.
Full details of our non-domestic rates support for 2024-25 are provided in the written statement available at the following link: https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-non-domestic-rates-support-2024-25.