BPF launches website to help deal with tax "choas

By Claire Dodd Claire

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Business rate relief British property federation Taxation in the united kingdom Tax

The British Property Federation (BPF) has launched a website to track the "chaos" caused by the scrapping of business rate relief on empty...

The British Property Federation (BPF) has launched a website to track the "chaos" caused by the scrapping of business rate relief on empty properties.

Before April 1 last year, empty pubs, offices and shops were only liable to pay half their rates bills. They now have to pay the full amount.

The BPF, the trade body for property, wants to put pressure on the government to reverse the decision.

It says that as a result of the rates, 15m sq ft of property has been demolished in order to avoid the tax. It says the situation is getting worse in light of the recession where increasing numbers of businesses are closing.

The new website is intended to track the effects of the tax and allow people to tell their own stories as to how it has affected them.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: "We're not asking for any bailouts, we just want fairness and taxing empty space is simply not fair. Any tax take which increases as income goes down is fundamentally wrong.

"Empty rates isn't just hitting big firms, it's hitting individuals, killing off people's investments and reducing the economy's capacity to recover. With every passing day Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson are digging a bigger hole for us to climb out of.

"Making firms face the double hit of recession and then a tax on that recession will simply make things much worse, and that's what we're seeing. Demolitions will continue, new investment won't happen and the misery of thousands of hard working individuals will be heightened."

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