Prime minister candidate Rishi Sunak vows to cut shop tax after pressure from retailers

Rishi Sunak, a candidate in the running to become the UK’s next prime minister, has vowed to support British high streets by cutting business rates if he wins.

Speaking at an event in Darlington, Sunak said: “In the autumn, we will need to set in place the business rates for the next few years and the top of my mind is always going to be supporting our high streets and town centres.”

The former chancellor went on to say these communities need support, adding: “It’s the Conservative thing to do to make sure our communities are strong. The best way to help them is through business rates. That’s what I did as chancellor and that’s what I’ll do as prime minister.”

It comes after Sunak and his competitor Liz Truss faced mounting pressure from retailers calling on the next government to cut business rates.

In an open letter to both candidates, the Retail Jobs Alliance wrote on behalf of a number of companies: “The next government must prioritise fundamental changes to the ‘Shops Tax’.

“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.”

The group further noted that retailers are currently facing an increase in business rates bills for next April of about 10 percent from just inflation.

The letter was signed by the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), Claire’s Accessories and Tesco, among others part of the alliance.

According to research carried out by the Cut the Shops Tax campaign, run by the alliance, nearly 200,000 retail premises would benefit from a business rates cut applied to all retailers, including many that are also liable for an online sales tax (OST).

The initiative further noted that if only smaller retailers are given a cut then around 13,000 stores would see their taxes rise by 156 million pounds a year.