Business Rate proposals are good news for economic growth, says IoD

Dated: 19 July 2011

Commenting on the Local Government Resource Review published late yesterday which proposes that councils are allowed to retain a significant portion of Business Rates, IoD spokesman Alexander Ehmann, said:

“The Government is absolutely right to allow councils to keep a chunk of the Business Rates generated in their area. This will encourage many to go for economic growth, and has the potential to create a much needed culture change in local government. For the first time many councils will have a genuine incentive to be business-friendly.

“We also welcome the clear commitment to keep the level of rates under central government control. We must never return to the days of extravagant councils destroying businesses by imposing ever-higher rates.

 “Tax increment financing is certainly worth considering, but there is a danger of irresponsible borrowing by councils. We would need clarity about what is to be permitted, with what safeguards, and who would pay if an anticipated increase in business rates did not materialise.

“It is important that councils are now given the tools to implement business-friendly decisions, for example by making rapid, pro-growth, planning decisions. The Government is taking action on these fronts, and it will be essential to carry those plans through to fruition.”

ENDS

Contact Points

Edwin Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tel: +44 (0)20 7451 3392
Mob: +44 (0)7814 386 243
Email: edwin.morgan@iod.com
Website: www.iod.com/policy

Notes to editors

  • The IoD (Institute of Directors) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with upwards of 45,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
  • The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities (including ten UK regional centres [three in London, Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Belfast] and one each in Paris and Brussels), conferences, networking events, virtual offices and hotdesking, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services and a comprehensive Information Centre. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board-level and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
  • In addition, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include ministers, constituency MPs, Select Committee members and senior civil servants. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media.
  • For further information, visit our website: www.iod.com
  • You can also keep up to date with the latest views from the IoD on twitter.com/The_IoD and at blogs.iod.com