The British Independent Retailers Association has welcomed todays outline of the measures being brought in by the government.
Giving his statement in parliament, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said that the new measures he believed would ‘boost growth’ in the UK so it expands by an average of 2.4%.
He said the basic rate of income tax would be cut to 19p in April 2023 and the recent rise in National Insurance will also be reversed from 6 November this year. The planned increase in corporation tax will also be cancelled, it was announced.
Other measures also include duty rates for wine and alcohol will also be axed, and there will be VAT-free shopping for tourists. BIRA’s CEO Andrew Goodacre said the measures would be much welcomed by businesses.
Andrew Goodacre:
“Reversing or canceling increases in National Insurance and corporation tax will reduce the cost burden faced by independent retailers. Along with the energy support announced this week, we now hope that retailers can plan and fully focus on this all important final quarter of the year (traditionally the busiest time of the year for many retailers).
“We also hope that the measures introduced to support households will restore consumer confidence and encourage shoppers back to the high streets. Consumer spending needs to increase or many independent retailers and high streets in general will continue to struggle,”
It follows the body’s approval of the government assisting to cut energy bills for businesses as announced earlier this week. Having campaigned tirelessly for clarification from the government for almost a year BIRA said the decisive action is much needed.
The announcement by the government on Wednesday (September 21st) outlined plans to help cut energy bills by working with suppliers to reduce wholesale energy costs and rises in bills that businesses have seen. This is in addition to the Energy Price Guarantee for households.
The government has promised to provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers (which also includes UK businesses, the voluntary sector and public sector) whose current gas and electricity prices have been inflated. This is to be applied to fixed contracts agreed on, or after April 1 2022. It will also apply to energy usage from October 1 until 31 March 2023 and will run for a period of six months. Savings will first ben seen in the October bills and be automatically applied to bills.
