The British Retail Consortium announced on Monday that more than 70 CEOs of retailers operating in the UK have written to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying “now is the time to level the playing field between industries” when it comes to reforming the business rates system. 

In an open letter coordinated by the BRC, the CEOs have called on government to introduce a Retail Rates Corrector.

The signatories include the leaders of AllSaints, Asda, ASOS, Deichmann Shoes, Fenwick, Footasylum, H&M, M&S, Matalan, Monsoon Accessorize, New Look, Oliver Bonas, Poundland, Primark, Schuh, Superdrug and many more.

That Corrector would be a 20% downward adjustment in business rates paid on retail properties and aims to redress the imbalance that sees the retail industry pay 7.4% of all business taxes (£33 billion), while it only accounts for 5% of the UK’s GDP. 

The BRC said that “this tax burden holds back investment in people and places – directly affecting the 3 million people employed by the industry, and the 2.7 million additional people employed within the supply chain”.

It added that the issue “also matters for the tens of millions of shoppers all over the country and the communities they live in. The UK has been losing shops at a rate of over 1,000 a year, and research suggests that without action a further 17,000 shops could close over the next decade. The Retail Rates Corrector aims not only to stem this tide of shop closures, but to unlock new investment in jobs, shops and communities”.

What it boils down to is the BRC saying “our high streets and town centres are paying far more than their fair share of tax. Retail and Hospitality pay the highest proportions of their pre-tax profits in taxes compared to any of the other main business sectors. Of retail’s £33bn total tax bill, one fifth is made up of business rates – the highest of all business sectors”.

BRC CEO Helen Dickinson, who also signed the letter, added:“Retail has been the golden goose, generating tax revenues far beyond the industry’s size, but the current situation is not sustainable. The government should act to rebalance the system and ensure all industries are paying their fair share. This in turn would drive increased retail investment in people, places and communities. The Budget is the perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for local investment that delivers for retail’s customers, delivers for its employees, and delivers for the economy.”