Eleven Broxtowe vape shops to lose business rates relief after Budget
A number of vape shops in Broxtowe borough are set to lose their business rates relief after Chancellor John Healy MP (Lab) singled them out in the Budget, four weeks after a new tax on vaping liquid came into force.
Nottinghamshire has 93 vape shops that will lose their business rates relief with 11 of them in Broxtowe.
Mr Healy said: “I will carve out adult gaming centres and vape shops from business rate reliefs.
He added that the new package would mean half of England's shops, restaurants and gyms will pay no business rates at all.
Adult gaming centres lose the relief too.
The vape shop figure comes from an analysis of Google Maps listings by Ecigone.
It comes on top of the new Vaping Products Duty, which started on October 1, at £2.20 for every 10ml of vaping liquid.
The Government says it is a commercial decision whether that cost is passed on to customers.
Shane Margereson, Ecigone founder, said: “Vapers have already seen prices go up since the new duty started on October 1 and losing rates relief adds another cost for high street vape shops on top of that.
“Most of these are small local businesses helping adults move away from cigarettes, so the worry is that higher costs for legal shops make illegal vapes look cheaper by comparison.”
“My advice to vapers is to shop around, stick to UK-registered sellers and think about switching to a refillable kit, which usually works out cheaper over time than prefilled pods.”