Business rates hike would drive up food prices, chancellor told
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said that a planned increase in business rates for large stores and supermarkets would 'add to inflation at the worst possible moment'.
Dickinson, whose members include more than 200 big retailers, said many businesses were 'already at breaking point' and dealing with the 'knock-on effects' of Reeves's decision to increase employers' national insurance by £25 billion a year from this April.
She also linked the issue to the Bank of England base rate, which affects mortgages for millions of homeowners, stating: 'It risks pushing up prices just as families are hoping for relief, and at a time when the Bank of England is trying to bring inflation down.'
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