The recent rise in business rates will heap further pressure on retail companies across Northern Ireland likely heighten inflationary pressures.
That is the view of the body representing some of the largest retail business in the province which called the move by 11 councils a “huge disappointment” in light of the decision to freeze rates in England, Scotland and Wales.
Neil Johnston, the director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC), said the average increase in rates announced recently is 7.29%, a move which is said isn’t deserved by the body’s members. Rates had been frozen during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic before the recent rise.
