The continued increase in inflation due to the devaluation of the pound is poised to cause an uplift in commercial property tax. Tom Ironside, director of business regulation at the BRC, added that, "it is highly questionable whether communities across the UK can afford a spike in business rates of this scale and any resulting loss of commercial investment will contribute to fewer shops and fewer jobs.”The rise in business rates, due to come next April, is set to be based from this month's RPI figure which the BRC has forecasted to hit 4%. This would be mean a hike in business rates of £280m for retailers, coming shortly after a business rate revaluation led to a rise of as much as 50% for some retailers in London.