An “unfair” business rates system is making it too hard for high street retailers to compete with their online rivals, MPs have warned in a report that calls for reforms to revive town centres.
High streets face a “bleak” future unless “dated policies and an unfair tax regime” are overhauled, according to the housing, communities and local government select committee.
Formerly thriving shopping areas will become “ghost towns” in the face of the shift to online shopping unless the government, councils, retailers and landlords work with communities to give high streets the ability to “adapt, transform and find a new focus in order to survive”, the MPs said.
