UKHospitality has welcomed the publication of a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship calling for reform of the UK’s tax system – which specifically highlights business rates as a cause for concern for entrepreneurs.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The report identifies considerable flaws in the current tax system and calls for a complete overhaul; something that we have consistently called for. The current system of business tax is completely out-of-date and totally unsuitable for the realities of doing business in the 21st Century.
“Arguably the principal challenge facing employers in the hospitality sector remains business rates, which have not been reformed despite promises in successive manifestos. The report suggests the transformation of business rates into a tax on commercial landowners and on land rather than property, which would begin to address some of the imbalances in the current system and help reduce the unfair burden that hospitality businesses face, particularly affecting investment. Crucially, the Government needs to accept there is a problem, acknowledge the creative solutions being presented and facilitate a formal review with businesses to find a workable solution.”
