Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Government is making an extra £1.5bn in business rates relief available to firms that weren’t eligible before – including offices and wholesalers.
Existing business rates relief  is available to those in retail, leisure and hospitality.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the move. “Many of those businesses such as wholesalers, suppliers and brewers have been hit hard by the pandemic but haven’t been able to access the same levels of support,” said its national chair, Mike Cherry.
However, business rates relief appeals made due to Covid-19 are now banned as well. These appeals were expected to cost up to £5bn, so the Government has saved itself £3.5bn, according to figures from the Rating Surveyors’ Association.
>See also: Business rates appeal talks halted as thousands of firms wait for outcome
The Government said that allowing rates appeals on material change of circumstances could have led to ‘significant amounts of taxpayer support going to businesses who have been able to operate normally throughout the pandemic’. It added this could disproportionately benefit firms in London.
‘It is the wrong thing to do on every level’
Experts describe the move as ‘outrageous’, writing off the hundreds of thousands of business owners who

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