LOCAL councillors have been urged not to increase local business rates any higher, ahead of next month’s annual meeting on the issue.
Last year local traders faced yet another hike, of 3.76 per-cent, coming after years of previous hikes.
In total, over the past five years, the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has raised business rates by 21.5 per-cent.
The director of the NI Retail Consortium, Neil Johnston, has called on local councillors to reconsider another hike, ahead of the February Council meeting.
“Recent years have seen a raft of issues that have increased costs for shop keepers; big changes to national insurance, large increases in the minimum wage, a new packaging tax and massive increases in energy costs,” said Mr Johnston.
“These have all piled the pressure on.”
Branding it as ‘tax raids on shops’ Mr Johnston said towns and villages across Fermanagh had ‘suffered as a result’ of the rate increases.
“Sadly, rather than boosting their town centres councillors have compounded the problems by regularly voting through higher than inflation increases in business rates,” he said.
“Often the very same councillors are keen to speak about the importance of sustaining and indeed reviving our town centres.”
Mr Johnston concluded, “The reality is that given the changing nature of retail, for example with the rise of online shopping, the Council really should be exploring how to reduce the rates burdens on ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers.
“In Wales and England measures are being put in place to permanently discount business rates for the retail, hospitality and leisure industries from April.
“All eyes are now on our local councillors as the time to set the rates for the coming financial year fast approaches.
“Will councillors cut rates and back the businesses that bring so much to our local economies and communities?
