9 of the UK’s largest grocery store chains have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, urging her to exclude retailers from a proposed enterprise charges surtax.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which coordinated the letter, mentioned that this exemption would assist fight meals inflation, assist jobs, and encourage funding.
Helen Dickinson, chief government of the BRC, added that supermarkets are battling immense monetary pressure, dealing with over £7 billion (€8.26 billion) in further prices in 2025 alone on account of elements like elevated Nationwide Insurance coverage contributions and new packaging taxes.
She emphasised that enormous retail shops, regardless of being a small fraction of all retailers, make use of almost 1,000,000 individuals and already pay a 3rd of all retail enterprise charges.
Exempting them from the surtax wouldn’t value taxpayers, because the burden might be shifted barely to giant workplace blocks and industrial crops, the place enterprise charges represent a smaller proportion of their total prices.
The letter – signed by the CEOs or senior leaders of Aldi, Asda, Iceland Meals, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose – highlights their dedication to offering inexpensive meals amidst rising value pressures.
Meals Inflation
They retailers added that meals inflation has been steadily rising and is predicted to proceed, contributing to the UK’s projected highest inflation within the G7 for 2025 and 2026.
This may impacts lower-income households, with 60% of UK households experiencing a drop in disposable earnings as important prices outpace wage progress.
The retailers argued that present inflationary pressures are exacerbated by elevated tax and regulatory burdens. The final Price range imposed over £7 billion (€8.26 billion) in further prices on retailers, disproportionately affecting supermarkets on account of their giant workforces.
Given the extremely aggressive grocery market and slender revenue margins, the supermarkets’ skill to soak up additional prices is diminishing.
They warned that inclusion within the new enterprise charges surtax would make it even more durable to ship worth for patrons, inevitably impacting households and probably prolonging excessive meals inflation into 2026.
The supermarkets have known as for a big discount within the business’s charges burden, and particularly that enormous retailers be excluded from the surtax on premises with a rateable worth of £500,000 (€590,000) or above.
They confused hat these giant premises are essential for jobs, neighborhood companies, and driving footfall for smaller companies.
Such a transfer, they contend, would sign authorities assist for the business, assist sort out meals inflation, and foster funding in communities.
