AM Neil Hamilton, Leader of UKIP in the Assembly, is calling on the Welsh Government to delay introducing business rate increases.

Mr. Hamilton, AM for Mid and West Wales, is urging the government not to enforce the new rate in April and allow more time to examine the situation in more detail, in particular the impact on small businesses in Mid and West Wales. 

The Welsh Government has announced that an extra £10m will be made available to help firms cope with the changes to their business rates, in addition to the existing £100m Small Business Rate Relief. 

Neil Hamilton said: “It is all very well for the Welsh Government to provide extra money for a transitional relief scheme, but it would be far better to delay introducing the rate increases, which threaten to destroy swathes of small businesses in the parts of Wales which are worst affected.

“I have received a huge number of complaints from business owners, particularly in rural areas, who feel these massive rises in business rates are unfair and ignore their ability to pay.  

“In some cases the increases are swingeing and will force businesses to close.  They should not be introduced until we have had a chance to make sure that the calculations are fair for all.

“In the longer term, this hated property tax should be abolished and replaced with a fairer tax, based on income or profits.   In the age of the internet, business rates are hopelessly out of date and will be the death of the High Street in their current form.”

The revaluations in Wales and England were carried out by the Valuation Office, and tariffs are based primarily on how much a property would cost to rent.

The rates were last calculated in 2010 based on 2008 prices and the new rate is based on those of 2015.