Britain to slash property tax on small retailers

Britain's finance minister will propose slashing some property taxes when he reveals a budget on Monday designed to help half a million retailers compete with online rivals.

Philip Hammond's office said late Friday that the annual spending plan will include £900 million ($1.2 million, 1.0 billion euros) in relief for the yearly fees store owners pay on their retail space.

The ministry said the measure will reduce by a third the payments of "496,000 small retailers".

Hammond's budget will be watched closely for signs of how Britain is preparing for its March exit from the European Union.

Negotiations between London and Brussels remain deadlocked and both sides are starting to make provisions for the possibility of Europe's second-largest economy breaking away from the 27-nation bloc without a deal.

Hammond is hemmed in on one side by Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement at the start of the month that Britain was ending the era of austerity that began in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

But he must also exercise caution in case London and Brussels fail to reach a Brexit agreement.