Helen's calls for local business support voted down by Government

Helen Morgan proposed law changes in Parliament that would cut red tape and help local businesses – only for them to be voted down by the Government.

The North Shropshire MP tabled changes to legislation being scrutinised in the House of Commons that would make the business rate system simpler for smaller companies and help boost high street trade.

However, Helen’s proposed changes to the Non-Domestic Rating Bill were voted down by Conservative MPs.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:

“Local high streets deserve our support and that means doing everything possible to help the small businesses that trade there.

“Therefore it’s really disappointing that Conservative MPs have voted to make life harder for businesses that are already struggling to get by in the current climate.

“The Government is imposing reams of paperwork on small businesses that will never pay rates when it could have backed my amendment and removed this unnecessary red tape.”

You can see Helen's proposals in details in her speech here.

Helen is a proud supporter of local North Shropshire businesses and spent Saturday promoting Love Your Local Market in Oswestry where she spoke to traders about the challenges facing them.

Helen’s amendment proposed changing the legislation to exempt small businesses that don’t pay rates from submitting annual reports to the Valuation Office Agency when there has been no change in property, saving them unnecessary paperwork and time every year.

Helen also proposed revaluating business rates each year to make taxes fairer for small firms who are currently forced to pay taxes that are out of proportion with the scale of their income.

And Helen sought to help local high streets by calling for a review of the system that means online retailers with large warehouses pay a lower rateable value per square meter compared to town centre shops.