New analysis suggests the Government should urgently consider an online sales tax, among other measures, to protect high street shops.
A report by the Housing and Communities Local Government Committee (HCLG) says town centres and high streets won’t be able to flourish without a reformed tax regime.
The MPs said that the Government needs to go “further and faster” to “level the playing field” by considering the following:
A sales tax
An increase in VAT
An online sales tax
“Green taxes” on deliveries and packages
Can the high street adapt?
MPs also said that high street retailers must accept that they need to change.
The report asks high street shops to focus on their personal, custom appeal, which online shopping lacks.
Local authorities must also “get to grips with the fact that their town centres need to change,” the HCLG says.
The report concludes that local government should create areas that are the “intersection of human life and activity”
Chairman Clive Betts said: “The growth of online shopping has profoundly changed retail in the UK, and the knock-on impact on high streets has been stark.
“It is likely that the heyday of the high street primarily as a retail hub is at an end. However, this need not be its death knell.”
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HeadlineMPs call for online tax to protect high street shopping
Short HeadlineOnline shopping tax may save high street
StandfirstA new report says an online sales tax would boost high street and town centre shopping
New analysis suggests the Government should urgently consider an online sales tax, among other measures, to protect high street shops.
A report by the Housing and Communities Local Government Committee (HCLG) says town centres and high streets won’t be able to flourish without a reformed tax regime.
The MPs said that the Government needs to go “further and faster” to “level the playing field” by considering the following:
A sales tax
An increase in VAT
An online sales tax
“Green taxes” on deliveries and packages
Can the high street adapt?
MPs also said that high street retailers must accept that they need to change.
The report asks high street shops to focus on their personal, custom appeal, which online shopping lacks.
Local authorities must also “get to grips with the fact that their town centres need to change,” the HCLG says.
The report concludes that local government should create areas that are the “intersection of human life and activity”
Chairman Clive Betts said: “The growth of online shopping has profoundly changed retail in the UK, and the knock-on impact on high streets has been stark.
“It is likely that the heyday of the high street primarily as a retail hub is at an end. However, this need not be its death knell.”
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