MPs have urged the government to seek alternatives to the"broken" business rates system which they say is placing an unfair burden on struggling high street retailers.
A report from the Treasury select committee echoed industry concerns that the way the system is set up places greater costs on physical stores - as well as manufacturers - than online outlets. It said that since being set up in 1990, revenues generated by the tax had outpaced inflation and reached £31bn in the last financial year but that it was now in urgent need of reform.
The report said:"Throughout this inquiry, the committee has been told that business rates do not fall upon all business equally, for example, they place a far greater cost on physical businesses, such as those on the high street, than those that rely more upon an online presence." Alison McGovern MP, the committee's lead member for the inquiry, said a series of tax reliefs designed to ease the burden were no more than"sticking plasters" and called for changes to be announced in the Chancellor's 2020 spring statement."The tax represents an increasing burden on businesses, particularly those with a physical high street presence struggling to remain competitive.
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