Overview
- Make UK says new property valuations have lifted manufacturers’ annual business rates by about £939 million, adding to a sector already under strain.
- Business rates are set from a site’s ‘rateable value’, so factories that need large premises face much higher bills than service firms in smaller spaces.
- Despite making up roughly a tenth of the economy, manufacturers pay more than a fifth of total business rates, according to Make UK.
- Make UK’s research, cited by GB News, estimates about 25,000 manufacturing jobs could be at risk as firms respond to the higher tax burden.
- Small firms also report rising costs from a higher national living wage and steeper energy standing charges, while the government points to a £4.3bn support package and new late-payment rules as relief.