Retail Jobs Alliance calls on next PM to reduce business rates

The Retail Jobs Alliance, a coalition of retailers including Morrisons, Greggs and Tesco, has called on both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to pledge to cut business rates, which it said were “killing our high streets”.

The group, also consisting of Co-op, Kingfisher,, RivingtonHark, Sainsbury’s, and Waterstones, said it feared “without urgent action many more shops, restaurants and pubs will struggle to keep their doors open”.

Businesses are facing a 10% increase in rates next spring as inflation is set to climb even higher in the coming months, an “ unsustainable burden on what is already the most taxed sector in the country”.

In an open letter to both candidates, the Alliance dubbed “shop tax” as a “pre-profit tax which inhibits investment and disproportionately impacts those communities most in need of levelling up”.

According to the open letter, research shows that “77% of constituencies in the top 10% of rates burdens are in the North and Midlands, compared to just 18% in London and the South” which risks store closure and loss of “vital” businesses in these areas. 

The alliance said “piecemeal” reform would not be enough, highlighting that property taxes in the UK were “four times higher than Germany and 50% above the G7 average.”

The letter said: “A permanent reduction in business rates for all retailers, regardless of their size, would make a big difference to retailers’ ability to invest more in shops and stores as well as to create jobs.”