Colin Neill, CEO Hospitality Ulster
Reacting to the news that the Department of Finance has launched a public consultation on business rates in Northern Ireland, Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster said today:
“The launch of this business rates consultation has been long anticipated and we welcome the fact it is now open for responses.”
“Hospitality Ulster has been resolute in its demands that business rates for the sector needs to change and has lobbied consistently for that to happen for the past numbers of years. The way business rates are calculated for the hospitality sector are completely out of kilter with other businesses and are a significant financial burden on top of ever increasing costs that are squeezing margins and threatening to put many out of business.”
“This consultation is the next step in the roadmap for radical change to an antiquated and not fit for purpose system which is a major burden for our members.”
“At the last UK Budget, the Chancellor gave hospitality businesses among others a third off their rate bills in England, however this didn’t apply to Northern Ireland. We continue to pay the highest business rates in the UK and are getting very little in terms of support. We want nothing less than real and meaningful change for our members here.”
“In this consultation we will be outlining significant changes to Rates, including our proposals for a targeted approach to small business rates relief, a revamp of the Rates Hardship fund, green rates rebate for businesses who invest in carbon neutral technology and greater relief for new start businesses.”
“The outcomes and recommendations of this consultation need to clearly show that if we are serious about our economy then the hospitality sector needs significantly lower business rates to allow it to thrive in challenging economic times.”