West End retailers warn of shop closures as business rates surge

Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company, described the rise as "another cost for businesses" on top of rising employers' national insurance contributions and the minimum wage. "Already faced with a rapidly rising tax bill, it is hard to see how increasing the business rates burden won't tip the scales towards job losses and store closures," she warned.

The government relies on business rates—forecast to raise £26 billion in England this year—as a stable source of revenue for local authorities, but bricks-and-mortar shops argue that the system places too heavy a burden on property-intensive sectors.

Read at Business Matters