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Rachel Reeves could abandon her plans to whack big retailers with higher business rates.
Retailers were last night awaiting more details after a Government official told the Financial Times the sector had been ‘listened to’ over the controversial reforms. There has been a backlash over Labour’s plans, which threaten to drive food prices up even further, firms say.
The Chancellor had been planning to charge big shops higher business rates to subsidise lower levies for smaller ones.
But she has been warned this would lead to closures as stores become unprofitable – robbing town centres of the big ‘anchor’ outlets that bring in shoppers and increase business at smaller firms.
The industry is already reeling from an extra £7billion in costs following last year’s Budget, including higher wages and National Insurance contributions.
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said excluding shops from a higher business rates bill would be ‘the right decision to protect households and high streets now and in the future.’
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