West End boss urges Healey to curb ‘eye-watering’ business rates

The West End’s top business chief has urged John Healey to avoid adding to high street firms’ “eye-watering” business rates bills.  Writing in City AM, New West End Company chief executive Dee Corsi said the Chancellor must listen to retailers and hospitality businesses who say they “cannot absorb” any more tax hikes. The industry body, which represents more than 800 high street firms, has warned that the West End could lose ground to other global hospitality and shopping districts if its tax burden continues to grow. Corsi said Healey must break the trend set by his predecessor, Rachel Reeves, whose two Budgets “heaped costs onto our flagship high street retailers”. Business rates are the biggest concern for the West End’s retail and hospitality firms, the trade body chief said. 335 shops in the district were caught by the new business rates multiplier which applies for all premises with a value of £500,000 or higher, she said. The combined rates bill of these shops