Major retailers call for shake-up of bricks and mortar tax system
BRITAIN’S retailers have today called for the link between business rates and rateable property value to be scrapped over fears that retailers with lots of property are being unfairly hammered.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountants EY have put forward several alternatives to the current business rates system: replacing it with a tax based on a company’s energy usage; rewarding businesses that pay high corporation tax or have a large number of employees with discounts; or adjusting the way that rates are calculated.
Sainsbury’s finance chief John Rogers, who chaired a group of senior retail executives working with the BRC, said: “If you look at how much retailers are investing in the UK – Sainsbury’s for example is investing over £1bn in the UK every year – the vast majority of that is currently in the form of new space and at the moment the tax system actively discourages that investment.”
The CBI warned against making the current tax system more complicated. “It is essential that any reform of the current system doesn’t add complexity to the UK’s tax regime or unduly burden key sectors of the economy, like manufacturers,” the business group said.