Warning about online sales

High street chiefs for level playing field The bosses of supermarkets and high street chains have asked the Chancellor to overhaul the current tax system to put them on a "level playing field" with digital rivals. A letter signed by Asda chief Roger Burnley and Morrisons CEO David Potts, along with 18 other prominent retail figures and high street landlords, warns the sector has already lost nearly 15,000 jobs with "many more to come". They continue: "Reducing business rates for retailers and rebalancing the tax system to ensure online retailers pay a fair share of tax would be revenue-neutral, provide a vital boost to bricks-and-mortar retailers and support communities in need of levelling up." The letter follows news first published in the Sunday Times that the Chancellor is considering new taxes for businesses which profited from COVID lockdowns. An "excessive profits tax" could be used to keep bricks-and-mortar retailers afloat, reports have suggested, but a Government spokesman said this was “not something the Treasury is looking into”.