Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ assertion that the Autumn Budget delivers the “lowest tax rates since 1991” for more than 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties has been called into question after detailed analysis revealed that most high-street premises will in fact face significantly higher business-rates multipliers next year.
Reeves told MPs that she was introducing the lowest tax rates in over three decades, using the phrase “tax rates” in the plural. However, the claim hinges entirely on a new 38.2p multiplier for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with a rateable value between £12,000 and £51,000 — and even this headline figure is not what many premises will actually pay in practice.
Treasury documents confirm that any RHL property not receiving transitional relief will also face a 1p supplement, raising the effective rate for thousands of small sites to 39.2p rather than the 38.2p highlighted in the Chancellor’s statement.
For medium-sized high-street properties with rateable values between £51,000 and £500,000, the business-rates multiplier will be 43p, or 44p with the supplement — levels far above those seen in 1991. Large premises with a rateable value exceeding £500,000 face the sharpest rise, with a 50.8p multiplier, increasing to 51.8p once the supplement is applied.
These rates are among the highest ever charged and more than 12p higher than the 38.6p national rate used in 1991/92. Meanwhile, most RHL properties with rateable values under £12,000 already pay no business rates due to Small Business Rate Relief, meaning the Chancellor’s comparison with 1991 is irrelevant for them.
The analysis, conducted by global tax firm Ryan, also reveals that overall support for the high street will fall by £420 million next year, contradicting the impression given in the Budget speech.
The current 40 per cent RHL discount, capped at £110,000 per business, will cost the Exchequer £1.385 billion in 2025/26. From April 2026, it will be replaced with a new structure in which RHL multipliers sit 5p below the standard rate, funded by a new 2.8p surtax on high-value properties with rateable values above £500,000.
That surtax is expected to raise £965 million in 2026/27 — a reduction of £420 million compared with the support offered by the existing discount.
Alex Probyn, Practice Leader for Europe & Asia-Pacific Property Tax at Ryan, said the government’s message does not reflect the actual impact on high-street businesses. “A large number of premises will pay far higher tax rates than in the early 1990s, with many now facing the highest rates ever applied,” he said. “When you look at the total funding envelope, support for high-street businesses falls by £420 million next year. The headline message just doesn’t match the fiscal reality.”
While some small RHL properties will see a lower multiplier, the majority will not benefit from anything resembling 1991-level rates. Most will pay considerably more, and the government’s overall support for the sector is shrinking rather than expanding. The result, according to the analysis, is a system that lowers rates for a narrow group of businesses while increasing them for many others — leaving the Chancellor’s headline claim open to serious challenge.
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Reeves’ “lowest tax rates since 1991” claim challenged as analysis shows most high-street premises will pay far more