The government’s decision to increase minimum pay at the same time as commercial property taxes will hurt retail and hospitality.
Nearly 3m low-paid workers will receive a pay rise of almost 10% next spring after Jeremy Hunt raised the national living wage to £11.44 an hour. Alongside this, business rates are set to rise by £1.6bn.
The British Retail Consortium, the Association of Convenience Stores and UKHospitality have said the double-hit will result in higher prices, lower investment, fewer jobs and, eventually, more stores closing.
