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22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

4 Mar 2024

The British Book Awards has announced its shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year. 

4 Mar 2024

The ACT is happy to confirm the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2024 as Saturday 4 May, the weekend of the early May Bank Holiday.

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Lib Dems call for new "commercial landowner levy" to replace business rates

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News, Outdoor News, Political News

Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has called for a new "commercial landowner levy" to replace the UK's business rates system.

At the moment, the £30 billion business rates system is calculated every five years according to shop rental values, a multiplier that rises annually in line with Consumer Price Index inflation. This levy is paid for by tenants, rather than landowners.

Under the proposal, buildings and utilities would be excluded from calculations, and only the land value of a commercial site would be subject to tax.

A joint report from Lib Dem advisers and economist Adam Corlett is due to be published later this month that claims businesses in 92% of local authorities would pay lower business taxes as a result of this proposed commercial landowner levy.

In the report, the Lib Dems argue that the rates should be paid for by land owners, and not the tenant, "sparing over half a million SMEs the bureaucratic burden of property taxation".

Crucially, businesses in the most deprived areas of the UK would see the biggest fall in their bills, but expensive areas such as central London would see a small increase.

Commenting on the proposals, Cable said "Business rates were a badly designed policy to begin with, and have become an unacceptable drag on our economy. They are a tax on productive investment at a time of chronically weak productivity growth, and a burden on high streets adapting to the rise of online retail."

"By only taxing land and not the productive capital above it, this reform would remove a major disincentive to investment, boosting productivity and contributing to a necessary revival in UK industry.

"While separate action is needed to ensure online retailers pay their fair share of corporation tax, our proposals would offer a lifeline to struggling high streets."

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