The law of unintended consequences: business rate retention and house prices

Most analysis of Monday’s local government finance proposals has focused on the shiny new stuff – retained business rates and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) – and the winners and losers reform might create. That’s not surprising. But it’s also not the whole story. Changes to business rates are also likely to affect local house prices – in ways that are actively unhelpful for Ministers’ housebuilding agenda.