Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy noticeBusiness rates should be axed to boost high street shops after the coronavirus pandemic, a report recommends today. Switching to a landlord levy “would shift the administrative burden of paying business rates from tenants to landlords and would remove existing disincentives to invest in buildings”, it says. Report author Ben Glover, Demos's deputy research director, said: “Business rates aren’t the main reason high streets are struggling, but they don’t help either. “The political toxicity of business rates also means that no sane minister would ever try to raise them. A Treasury spokesman said: “We’re conducting a fundamental review of business rates, and have already set out proposals for more frequent revaluations of properties, ensuring bills more quickly reflect changes in the economy.

Source: Daily Mirror July 07, 2021 22:52 UTC