Landlords toast potential U-turn on huge rates rises

DERBY landlords have welcomed a potential U-turn on tax rises for pubs which threaten their future.

- 

The Neptune boss and Freedom of Derby recipient Steve Kirk said current policies and charges in place following the recent autumn Budget would “shut me down” in the long term.

The Government is reportedly set to announce changes on how pubs pay business rates - following huge concerns after the Budget, which reportedly led to some Labour MPs being banned from certain venues.

Specific details of any changes are not yet known. But industry bosses warned many UK pub landlords would face significantly higher business rates bills in the coming months.

This is because the rateable value on pubs may increase - which is then used to calculate how much business rates pubs pay to councils.