In his Autumn Budget delivered 29 October 2018, Philip Hammond made any number of promises.
One of these promises is intended to improve the lack-lustre retail sector in our town centres.
There is no doubt that the major online retailers, Amazon and the like, have caused a major shift in the way many of us shop.
As faster broadband becomes more commonplace, and the use of computers a regular home fixture, then the drift away from viewing and buying goods on a shelf to viewing pictures and click and buy on the internet, will probably continue.
Which of course is fine if you own a thriving internet retail business, but not so good if you are committed to using expensive retail premises in town centre locations.
At present, online retailers have a massive competitive advantage over their High Street competitors because they don’t have to pay:
And additionally, in the case of the mega online retailers, they often use tax havens to shelter their trading profits so don't even pay comparable tax on their trading profits.
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