A coalition of retail lobbyists is urging Sir Keir Starmer to support a new online sales tax to reform the UK’s business rates system. The proposal, from the Association of International Retail, the Association of Town and City Management, and the Heart of London Business Alliance, suggests a 2% levy on online sales. This could generate £6bn annually, funding a 35% reduction in business rates for physical retailers, saving them £2bn. The groups labelled the current system as “fundamentally broken.”
