Leader of the Liberal Democrats has warned the Chancellor's
business rates relief is nothing more than "hand-to-mouth
support" and has called for the broken business rates system to
be abolished.
Liberal Democrat leader said:
"The UK high street is suffering the worst year on record, with
in-store sales falling and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.
"While I welcome any relief, hand-to-mouth support for businesses
simply isn't sustainable. Liberal Democrats demand better. There
needs to be a fundamental change to the system.
"We must create a level playing field between the high street and
online retailers. That means scrapping the broken business rates
system and replacing it with a tax on land values that would
boost investment and cut taxes for businesses in nine out of ten
English local authorities."
ENDS.
Notes to editors:
The Liberal Democrats want to abolish buisness rates and replace
it with a tax on land values, the Commercial Landowner Levy
(CLL). The levy would remove buildings and machinery from
calculations and tax only the land value of commercial sites,
boosting investment and cutting taxes for businesses in nine out
of ten English local authorities.
Liberal Democrat plans, passed at their Autumn conference,
include:
- Business rates should be abolished and replaced by a
Commercial Landowner Levy based on the value of commercial land
only
- The levy should be paid by owners rather than tenants
- Non-residential stamp duty should be scrapped to improve the
efficiency of the commercial property market
- Commercial land should be taxed regardless of whether the
buildings above it are occupied; the tax should also apply to
unused and derelict commercial land.
