Petition

Rethink the Rates

Prosper UK has launched Rethink the Rates, our campaign to reform business rates and get British business moving again.

Business rates are charged on the building a business occupies rather than on anything it earns inside it. The bill arrives whether the business is busy or empty, and it goes up when money is spent improving the premises.

We have spent this year listening to businesses across the country. Across different industries, nations and regions, business rates came up more than anything else.

The system is outdated, unfair and broken. It has barely changed in principle since 1601. It takes no account of whether a business is trading well or trading badly, and it taxes firms for investing in their own premises.

Around 189,000 small businesses are paying rates they should not be paying, because the relief they qualify for has to be claimed and many never find out it exists. The whole thing runs on discounts and allowances that almost nobody understands.

This is not just about high streets. Any business with premises pays it, from the factory floor to the office building, and it stops entrepreneurs from starting new businesses.

We are asking you to add your name and call on the Chancellor to rethink the rates.