H/t Lola, from The Herald:
Business leaders have warned the tax burden on high street shops is disproportionately high. Ms Davidson said: “The retail sector currently makes up 5 per cent of the UK economy but pays 25% of all business rates, over £7 billion per year.”
That's about as helpful as saying "The haulage industry pays 90% of all diesel fuel duty" or "Smokers pay 100% of all tobacco duty". Business Rates is a tax on valuable locations, and retail premises are usually in the most valuable locations (town centres). It's as broad as long, if there were no Business Rates, rents and purchase prices would be correspondingly higher.
Having flunked the logic bit, she's wrong on the facts as well. From the House of Commons retail briefing paper:
In 2017, consumers in the UK spent around £406 billion in retail purchases [about 20% of GDP]. In 2017, the retail sector as a whole contributed £194 billion to UK economic output (11% of the total), measured by Gross Value Added or GVA3; this was an increase from £190 billion in 2016.
In 2016, the sector employed 4.9 million people (20.5% of the UK total), and contained 374,000 businesses (15.5% of the UK total).
We can argue whether the retail sector is 11% or 20% of the UK economy or anything in between, but either way it's more than 5%. I could have guessed that without looking it up.
Please note: £7 billion Business Rates divided by £406 billion sales = 1.7p for each £1 of sales on average or about one-tenth as much as the VAT thereon.
Nothing
4 hours ago
5 comments:
I've said this before but I cannot understand why these people cannot see the errors in the logic and/or facts of the stuff they write. I mean, I make mistakes, and I am only to pleased to be corrected, but this stuff just smacks of either mendacity or stupidity.
L, particularly as you can check every fact within a few minutes by going online.
L, they haven't moved on from the old days when you could get away with saying any old shite.
I was kind of hoping Ruth Davidson might be a good prospect for the future. Guess she is like the rest. Disappointed.
VAT is the real burden on retail business. The can be seen when VAT is removed, for example, in airport shopping malls, and when it has been cut; some, though not all of the VAT cut is passed on in lower prices.
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