Key facts
- Retailers are urging Chancellor John Healey to cut high street taxes in the upcoming budget.
- Bosses from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, and Marks & Spencer met with Healey.
- They want higher National Insurance thresholds for employers.
- Retailers are also calling for a freeze on business rates.
- They want to be removed from the surtax on large properties.
- The British Retail Consortium warned tax hikes would push up prices and cost jobs.
Retail industry leaders pressed Chancellor John Healey on Tuesday to reduce taxes on high street businesses, warning that further increases would negatively impact jobs, prices, and the overall economy. The meeting, held at Downing Street, included executives from major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, and Marks & Spencer.
According to BRC CEO Helen Dickinson, the choices made in the upcoming budget will determine the fate of retail jobs and high street viability. Retailers are advocating for an increase in the threshold for employer National Insurance contributions, a freeze on business rates, and the removal of a surtax imposed on large properties in the previous budget. Dickinson argued that providing the highly taxed retail sector with more room to invest would foster job growth and economic expansion.
Concerns had been raised that a new warehouse tax might be introduced to fund business rate discounts for pubs and other venues. However, reports indicated that Healey had dismissed this idea over the weekend, following warnings from John Lewis chairman Jason Tarry that it would harm high streets.
Retail sales saw a modest increase of 1.3% in the year to September, a slowdown from the 2.3% rise recorded a year prior. The British Retail Consortium emphasized that the Chancellor cannot simultaneously promise to ease the cost of living while imposing additional costs on retailers. They view the upcoming budget as a critical test for the government's commitment to supporting the sector.
Small businesses are also seeking relief, with industry groups like the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) calling for the business rates relief threshold to be raised from £12,000 to £25,000. FSB national chairman Tina McKenzie stated that persistent cost rises are hindering small businesses' ability to invest and expand, and urged the budget to support growth by making the tax system more favorable.