Reforming business rates is an ideal place to start and will enable hospitality businesses to spend more of their available cash on investment, according to UKHospitality.
It comes after the Labour Party announced its plan for high streets, including replacing business rates with a new system of business property taxation.
In Labour’s Plan to Power Up Britain, the party said, ”towns and cities should expect that a Labour government will work with business and local leaders to give them a brighter future.
”That’s why Labour will support local businesses to revitalise high streets by stamping out the scourge of late payments and replacing business rates with a system of business property taxation that rebalances the burden and levels the playing f ield between local retailers and online giants.”
Responding to the plan, Allen Simpson, deputy chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Hospitality helps create places where people want to live, work and invest, but too often policies make it expensive to run businesses in the heart of communities.
“We’re pleased to see this focus on high streets and fixing the broken business rates system. The current system is archaic and unfairly penalises businesses that have a physical presence in communities, like hospitality. It’s clear that the current system is in urgent need of reform.
“We need to see governments in Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff, alongside local authorities, do all they can to rebalance and reduce the costs that businesses are paying.
“Reforming business rates is an ideal place to start and will enable businesses to spend more of their available cash on investment, rather than just paying the bills.”
