UK retailers pay a disproportionately high level of tax on property, including onerous business rates, compared with their global counterparts says research commissioned by BRC.

UK property taxes account for 12.1% of overall commercial taxes, the third highest proportion of tax from commercial property among the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), according to research commissioned by the BRC. That compares with Germany’s figure of 2.3%, and France’s of 8.5%.

The taxes fall hardest on retailers because they need more property than some other business sectors, said the BRC.

Japan pays the largest proportion of commercial tax on property at 17% and the US the second highest at 12.9%. The research forms evidence to support the BRC’s Budget submission to the Chancellor, which will be sent on Wednesday.

The submission will call for the Government to freeze business rates this year and to switch the calculation to a 12-month average of CPI rather than RPI, as urged by Retail Week and the BRC in the Fair Rates for Retail campaign.

 

 

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