Burnham’s £880 million plan to save high street shops

• Andy Burnham's plan to overhaul business rates for small high street firms could cost approximately £880 million annually.
• The proposal aims to fund this by imposing higher property taxes on large warehouses, specifically targeting online retailers such as Amazon.
• Analysis suggests the policy could exempt over 140,000 additional small premises from paying business rates entirely.
• This would involve increasing the threshold for 100 per cent small business rates relief from £12,000 to £18,000, and extending tapered relief up to £21,000.
• An expert from global tax firm Ryan raised concerns about how the plan would be funded, questioning if larger commercial properties would be asked to contribute even more.

IN FULL

Burnham’s tax plan to save Britain’s high streets ‘could cost £880m a year’