Bexhill and Battle constituency MP, Huw Merriman, has called for radical business rate reform during a debate in the House of Commons on supporting small businesses. 

Huw has campaigned for business rates reform since being elected to Parliament in 2015.  Business rates vary depending on the size and location of the business premises and are based on the valuation of the property. Calling for the reform to be linked towards ‘a tax on turnover or sales’ the MP highlighted that online businesses, without premises, have an advantage over those on the High Street.

Speaking in the Chamber, Huw said “In the six years since I have been a Member of this place, I have always championed the need to reform business rates. The UK has the largest property taxes. They are a tax on jobs and a tax on business, and I would like to see them reformed. Over those years, we have had a number of reviews, and we are waiting on one at the moment. I would dearly like to see business rates replaced. I represent a constituency in Sussex that is reliant in employment terms on small businesses in leisure, tourism and retail. Business rates are a tax on business and jobs and lead to uncertainty.”

Speaking after the debate, Huw said “We need to make the tax system fairer to ensure that all businesses contribute fairly and so that our high streets can compete more favourably with online-only shops. To do this, we need to ensure that tax is based on turnover or sales rather than property and this is what I called for in the debate last week.”