Rating and Valuation (S.I., 2009, No. 204)

I am coming to the end of my speech. The hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst had a fair crack of the whip. In the current economic circumstances, given the pressure on businesses across the board, what is clear—and we understand it only too well—is that significant and unexpected backdated rates liabilities of this kind will create difficulties for many, although not all, businesses. That is why we have introduced a scheme to help all businesses, including some port occupiers, to meet such unexpected and significant backdated liabilities, and to pay over a period of eight years. That is an unprecedentedly long period. This is, in principle, a deferment of the tax liability, not a waiving or a removal of it. It is, in principle, precisely what my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in the House yesterday afternoon would apply to the increase in business rates that businesses face from the multiplier or the ending of the transitional relief: a deferring but not a removal of that tax liability. Businesses may benefit from up to around £600 million by the deferment announced by my right hon. Friend. It is consistent in principle and practice with his announcement in the pre-Budget report that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs would be flexible over the period in which other business taxes—corporation tax, VAT and payroll taxes—had to be paid. Over 100,000 firms have now taken advantage of that. Almost £1.8 billion has been deferred to help them to manage their cash flow and business pressures during this difficult period. To summarise, we should expect businesses to pay the tax that is due, but in the current economic circumstances we must and can support businesses, especially where they have this unexpected or significant backdated liability. That is precisely what we are doing. We are doing it to an unprecedented extent by allowing scheduling over eight years for the firms that are affected. Businesses are already taking advantage of that support. The House would be wrong to take that away this afternoon.