Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has prepared terms of reference for a consultation on replacing business rates with a land value tax since 2019.

The government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.

At Budget 2024, we announced our intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. It must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties – those with rateable values of £500,000 and above.

This Budget announcement reflects the Government’s first steps to support the high street. We want to go further to modernise the system, and so we have published a discussion paper setting out priority areas for reform. This paper invites stakeholders to help co-design a fairer business rates system that supports investment.