‘Typical’ Leeds hairdresser welcomes Budget extension of Small Business Rate Relief

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s announcement today in the Budget that his extension of Small Business Rate relief would benefit “a typical hairdresser’s in Leeds” has been warmly welcomed by…. a typical hairdresser in Leeds and also a member of the NHBF.  

Claire Sharma has run Quiff Salon in Headingley in the city for the past five years and, with a rateable value of £7,200, the chancellor’s decision to raise the threshold at which the 100% relief comes into play from £6,000 to £12,000 next year, and to make it permanent, will directly benefit her business. 

It’s great news. Business is going well, but it is still a struggle at times. A lot of prices are going up at the moment, and wages are increasing - everything just seems to be going up, so anything like this is going to help.  

“Small Business Rate Relief is currently saving me around £70 a month, so hopefully I will be able to invest this extra money back into the salon, as there are quite a lot of things that need work on. But it will just help generally,” she added.  

Speaking for small business owners, Claire was featured in today’s Daily Telegraph budget report.  She has also invited Mr Osborne to come to Leeds to visit her salon. “We’ve not seen him up here and so he should come and visit – we’d definitely give him a good haircut!” 

Small Business Rate Relief is a tapered relief based on a business’ rateable value, and means the very smallest businesses are exempt from paying any business rates at all. 

In the Budget, Mr Osborne pledged that, from April next year, the threshold for 100% relief will double from £6,000 to £12,000, while tapered relief will run from £12,000 to £15,000. 

He announced this extension will be permanent rather something that has to be renewed each year. This meant some 600,000 small businesses would pay no rates at all “forever”, saving them nearly £6,000 a year, Mr Osborne said. 

NHBF president Paul Curry also gave a warm welcome to the announcement. “The NHBF has long been calling for Small Business Rate Relief to be made permanent in this way, and so this is excellent news for salons and the high street in general.”