Emma McClarkin, CEO of the Welsh Beer and Pub Association, said: “Despite the positive intent, this announcement will not undo a long line of decisions that disadvantage Welsh pubs.
“Wales chose to exclude pubs from their lower multiplier given to retail properties only, their transitional relief is much less generous, and the 15% relief only applies for one year. All this means a pub of the same size will pay almost twice in Wales as in England and leave publicans shocked and regulars no doubt questioning how much the Welsh Government values pubs.
“We are calling on Welsh parliamentarians and government to ensure the business rates burden is permanently addressed by expanding the planned lower multiplier for retail properties to include pubs as well.”
Notes to Editors
When looking at pubs with equal rateable values in England and Wales, a Welsh pub pays much more:
| Wales | England | Difference | |
| Old RV | £30,000 | £30,000 | |
| Old Bill* | £10,224 | £8,982 | |
| New RV | £39,000 | £39,000 | |
| New Bill (pre-support) | £19,578 | £14,898 | |
| Final Bill | £15,196 | £8,780 | £6,416 |
| Year 2** | £19,077 | £9,026 | £10,051 |
| Year 3** | £20,690 | £9,278 | £11,412 |
** Uprated by 2.8% inflation YoY
NB: We do not know if the 15% reduction in Wales applies pre- or post-transitional relief. We have applied it post-transitional relief in the example above, as is the policy in England. If it were applied pre-transition, the Final Bill for Y1 would be £16,641 in this example
There are several key policy differences between Wales and England which contributes to this higher burden:
| Wales | England | |
| Small Business Multiplier | Does not have a lower multiplier for smaller businesses | Has a lower multiplier for businesses with rateable values of less than £51,000 |
| RHL Multiplier | Applies a lower multiplier only to retail properties with RV under £51,000 | Has a lower multiplier for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with an RV below £500,000 |
| Transitional Relief | Transitional relief starts at a 33% increase in Y1, 66% in Y2 and full bill in Y3 | Transitional relief applies a Y1 increase based on RV, either 5%, 15% or 30% of current bills. For pub properties, this takes into account current RHL relief. |
| 15% off | 15% spread across more than just pubs, applies only for 1 year (likely due to increased cost of including more property types) | 15% decrease for all pub properties, with bills then frozen for Y2 and Y3 |
