BUSINESS NEWS


The chancellor’s Budget last week met a generally


favourable response from the financial markets, but some observers believe it did little to tackle the national debt


Trade reacts to Budget’s ‘mixed bag’ of measures


Analysis: Lower business rates welcomed but not visitor tax. Ian Taylor reports


The Budget unveiled by the chancellor last week following months of speculation and conflicting government briefings appeared to please no one other than the markets. There was little talk of growth this


time but a mass of detail which made the cumulative impact of multiple tax rises and reliefs difficult to measure aside from a total increase of £26 billion a year. Abta chief Mark Tanzer welcomed


“the move to support high street businesses, including travel agencies,


56 4 DECEMBER 2025


through a permanently lower level of business rates”, though he rightly noted “it will take some time to assess the impact”. However, any immediate benefit on business rates will be countered by loss of the remaining 40% Covid-era relief from next April, and airports were upset since their rates payments will double. The British Retail Consortium


rightly called it a “mixed bag” given the surtax on larger premises to pay for the reduction in rates for smaller retail and hospitality properties, noting it “fell short of the action needed to


secure the long-term future of our high streets”. The hospitality and inbound


tourism sectors were also upset at mayors being granted powers to tax overnight visitors, with the UKinbound association calling for tax schemes to “be simple fixed-rate and low-cost” and for revenues to go back into the visitor economy. There was ritual criticism of an inflation-linked rise in Air Passenger


Continued on page 54 travelweekly.co.uk


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