Retail NI ask for extension of business rates holiday to help with 'perfect storm' of cost increases

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts has called for the rates holiday to be extended to help businesses cope with a "perfect storm" of cost increases.Speaking at an event in Lisburn on Thursday night alongside representatives of the five main Assembly parties, Mr Roberts said that his members were concerned that the end of the rates holiday "will make a bad situation even worse”.

Businesses in Northern Ireland were granted a rates holiday in April 2020 that was extended into June of this year.

This suspension of business rate payments is due to expire at the end of June.

The Retail NI Chief Executive was keen to stress the multi-faceted nature of the challenges facing Northern Irish businesses.

“We are no longer just experiencing a cost-of-living crisis", Mr Roberts said, "it is also a cost of doing business crisis which threatens jobs and businesses across every sector of our economy.

"Businesses are facing a perfect storm of cost increases including Energy, National Insurance, Inflation, Covid Recovery, and rising Interest rates”

Retail NI is calling for immediate political action on this issue in the aftermath of the election, saying that the new Executive must "hit the ground running" and make moves to agree "a business support package" that includes a continuation of the rates holiday.

The cost-of-living crisis has impacted businesses in recent months as the cost of supplies and fuel increasing.

There have also been an increasing number of labour disputes in recent months, with strike and industrial action taking place across the public and private sectors as workers seek wage increases to help deal with rising costs.