Put levy on online sales to fund a business rate cut for shops
I HAVE been following with interest the Mirror’s High Street Fightback campaign.
We’re famously known as a nation of shopkeepers. But retailers are more than just shops. Retail accounts for more than four million jobs in the UK, on every high street, in every town. They’re part of the fabric of every community. But since
DAVE LEWIS,
March, many major retailers have collapsed, taking 82,000 jobs with them. Of course, shops can fail for plenty of reasons. But we shouldn’t overlook the burden of business rates.
One workable solution is introduce a 2% levy on goods sold online. This solution would raise £1.25billion – enough to pay for a 20% cut to business rates for shops all over the country. As the UK’s largest online grocer, we would be one of the biggest contributors to the levy. the simplest and fairest way to start levelling the playing field between online and bricks and mortar retail.
And, by excluding small businesses, it would allow new ideas to thrive.
If we want high streets to grow, business rates need to change. It’s