Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies is calling for business rates to be cut by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Mr Davies is supporting Fishguard Town Council's bid to get a 12‐month business rate holiday to help them survive the recession.

He is also supporting the many other traders throughout the county who have told him that business rates are crippling them.

"This tax, which is collected by Pembrokeshire County Council and passed on to the Welsh Assembly Government, is slowly but surely destroying small local businesses," said Mr Davies.

"The Plaid‐Labour Welsh Assembly Government has the power to give a business a rates holiday with immediate effect."

The Welsh Conservatives have pledged to exempt companies with a rateable value of £10,000 or less from paying rates and to give tapered relief to firms worth up to £15,000.

It's estimated that this help will aid as many as 90,000 firms across Wales. A similar scheme in Scotland took five out of six firms out of business rates altogether,

"This help has never been needed more," added Mr Davies. "Unless drastic action is taken soon then I fear for the future of many of our small shopkeepers."