The report, ‘Taxing Land, Not Investment’, calls for the abolition of business rates and its replacement with a tax on land values, the Commercial Landowner Levy (CLL).
The levy would remove buildings and machinery from calculations and tax only the land value of commercial sites, boosting investment and cutting taxes for businesses in nine out of ten English local authorities.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Despite Government commitments to a fundamental review of business rates, we are still stuck with an out-of-date system that unfairly hits hospitality businesses.
“The Lib Dems’ recognition that we need radical reform on rates and a complete overhaul of the system is positive for hospitality businesses. A move away from a property tax is positive, although any future system must also incorporate a tax on digital businesses to ensure they pay their fair share.
“We need action immediately, however, or hospitality businesses will continue to struggle against unfair taxes and there will only be further closures. In the short-term, we need to see a freeze of the multiplier, expansion of the pub relief to incorporate the wider sector and positive plans to use digital tax revenue to slash rates for community businesses.”