Hospitals and police stations hit by plan to help the High Street

Hospitals and police stations in England will be forced to pay a new ‘levy’ under ‘ill thought-out’ plans to ease pressure on the High Street, according to analysis.

Universities, prisons, army barracks and even HM Treasury’s headquarters in Westminster will also be caught up in the tax hike, according to commercial real estate firm Altus.

Rachel Reeves said in the Budget that Labour plans to reduce the business rate burden on smaller firms with a permanent cut in the ‘multiplier’ used to calculate their taxes.

That will be paid for by a new higher multiplier for more expensive properties intended to ensnare warehouses used by big online retailers.

However, figures from Altus show that while this charge will cover 1,589 large warehouses, it will also affect 15,278 non-domestic properties, including 297 NHS hospitals, 310 universities, army barracks and court buildings. Alex Probyn, at Altus, said it was ‘ill-thought-out’.

The Treasury said it was ‘engaging with stakeholders to finalise plans’.

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