Online sales tax considered in bid to save the high street

[b0rn2sk8]

I think my main complaint about that is the linking of rates to sales.

No **** that rates in out of town areas is lower than those in the centre of town. I imagine it'd be similarly low for supermarkets out of towns too.

About 15 years ago, that is exactly what happened. The ‘high street’ perpetually complained they were being driven out by out of town shopping complexes/retail parks. One of the complaints was about the lower rates for out of town.

In reality it has more to do with convenience, out of town shops are bigger, have free parking outside the front door etc etc.

Now online is even more convenient and the out of town places are also suffering.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Business rates.

Also you pay business rates and don't get anything for it. You need to pay someone to take your bins away. With council tax at least someone empties yours and takes away the crap same doesn't apply for business rates you get literally nothing for it.

Unless you actually run a high street business you don't know all the hidden costs which all add up to make it unprofitable.

The council could easily add you onto their residential program and empty your bins. At least that way you don't feel so bad about having to pay rates for nothing and then pay another company to empty them.

Water is another one which is ridiculously expensive for businesses and again it should be council operated and included within rates. Another bill on top which shouldn't be there.

The problem is the high street is only one small group of businesses who pay business rates. Any increase was likely a net gain even if a few high street places closed up.

For something to target the high street, they would need to make special rate zones or something to charge less. Business rates are not the only issue, rent is often utterly bonkers and all the other associated building costs are significant compared to operating a warehouse.

 

[413x]

I really don’t understand this burning need to keep “the high street” alive. Copy and paste boots, boots, river island, top shop. It’s trash and the world is evolving.

Mega Corps need to pay FAR more to the country, and their employees stop being taken advantage of as “self employed drivers”.

Amazon needs competition, but that is not ancient high streets not fit for purpose.

Because of the high street falls, they will need to generate all that tax from somewhere else

Pensions will be hit
Council tax will be hit
Jobs will be hit

All these things mean less tax income and more tax costs (ie unemployment, pensioner poverty)

If they don't do something soon they will have an increasing deficit and it will grow faster and faster.

They have to tax amazon etc. Not to save the highstreet, to keep the tax coming in.


I agree with others. Increasing tax on amazon won't get people into the highstreet, I will never go back to bricks unless it was a ridiculous rise.
But it will help the treasury

 

[Surveyor]

Business rates.

Also you pay business rates and don't get anything for it. You need to pay someone to take your bins away. With council tax at least someone empties yours and takes away the crap same doesn't apply for business rates you get literally nothing for it.

Unless you actually run a high street business you don't know all the hidden costs which all add up to make it unprofitable.

The council could easily add you onto their residential program and empty your bins. At least that way you don't feel so bad about having to pay rates for nothing and then pay another company to empty them.

Water is another one which is ridiculously expensive for businesses and again it should be council operated and included within rates. Another bill on top which shouldn't be there.

Councils collect non-domestic ("business") rates, they do not set the rateable values or the multipliers which determine how much they have to collect.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I really don’t understand this burning need to keep “the high street” alive. Copy and paste boots, boots, river island, top shop. It’s trash and the world is evolving.

Mega Corps need to pay FAR more to the country, and their employees stop being taken advantage of as “self employed drivers”.

Amazon needs competition, but that is not ancient high streets not fit for purpose.

Competition is good.

If we get rid of all brick and mortar stores you may as well just hand over your home, car, savings to Amazon.

 

[Randomface74]

absolute joke they've been getting away with paying peanuts in tax for so long

but don't pretend that's why customers don't go to the high street - it's the parking ripoff mainly.

 

[sanaxe1]

I don't think we need an online tax as such, more of a mega Corp tax.

 

[413x]

absolute joke they've been getting away with paying peanuts in tax for so long

but don't pretend that's why customers don't go to the high street - it's the parking ripoff mainly.

It's the hassle and the parking.
Luckily , at least for the cinema in the evening here it's 1 pound for the evening.

Go during the day and you're looking at
10 pounds to park
4 pounds fuel (ish)
Time at whatever you price your time at.

Unless I'm going into town for cinema/restaurant (rare) then I won't even consider traipsing round.
It's just so much hassle. Especially returns.

 

[stuman]

Competition is good.

If we get rid of all brick and mortar stores you may as well just hand over your home, car, savings to Amazon.

competition could be made up of several / multiple high street companies (maybe even supermarkets) banding together and stop in-fighting. More out of town shopping centres, large stores, energy efficient, cheap, better selection etc.

 

[pp111]

Funny how the government believes in the free-market until they need some devious way of raising tax money.

If they need tax money they should tighten up existing laws rather than just making up new ones.

 

[malachi]

Funny how the government believes in the free-market until they need some devious way of raising tax money.

If they need tax money they should tighten up existing laws rather than just making up new ones.

Never, as members of the government are using those same loop holes for their own financial gain.

 

[Kutter]

It will start at 2%, then slowly but steadily increase.

 

[pp111]

Never, as members of the government are using those same loop holes for their own financial gain.

That's true. What a lot of folks don't realise is that most politicians set themselves up as companies, which means they have the same taxation as a company. They don't pay the same tax as you or I, they pay the much lower company tax rates. They are VAT registered too, so they get all their VAT back on just about everything they buy. Not to mention the fact that almost everything they do is covered by generous expenses.