📢 Urgent: High Street Business Rates Scandal 📢

Please take the time to read this... it's essential you know what's happening.

I wouldn't normally post something like this, but I am so angry about it, I think it should be shared, so here we go...

The latest government budget claims to be "helping the High Street," but the reality for small businesses like mine in Solihull is a massive and crippling increase in costs. This is not help—it's a betrayal!

Here's the breakdown of how my shop's Business Rates have been hiked:

2024/2025:
    Rates Payable: £10,354.25
    After 75% relief: £2,588.54 (£216 per month)

2025/2026
    After 40% relief: £6,612.55 (£518 per month)

2026/2027 (The "Helpful" New System):
    New Rates Payable (after 'overhaul'): £8,134 (£678 per month)
    This is a 31% increase from last year, or an extra £160 a month!

Who is benefiting from the £4.3 billion rates relief the Chancellor boasted about, or did she mean they would be taking another £4.3 billion instead?!

I am absolutely disgusted at the government for misleading the general public and harming the High Street beyond belief. This policy is driving small, independent shops out of business.

So what value for money do I get for my hard-earned £678 per month? Urm, nothing. I don't even get my bins emptied, but as that's a requirement to keep my licence, I have to pay another £50 a month for a private waste collection.

Oh, and then there's Solihull Bid..... £678 per month isn't enough to pay for them too so I'm charged another £363 per year for them to waste money on glossy magazines that no one reads and hold events that take trade away from permanent business as visitors spend all their money on the 'pop up' stalls who take the money and run.

The government appears to be doing everything possible to penalise people who work hard so they can give money to all the lazy scroungers who expect everything for nothing.

The general election can not come fast enough.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am going for some cat therapy now while I can still afford to feed them! 😿