Labour calls for crackdown on rogue American sweet shops ‘blighting’ excessive streets

On Dec 26, 2023

Labour has known as for a crackdown on the rogue American sweet shops “blighting” Britain’s excessive streets.

The variety of the cheesy candy retailers has surged in recent times, with greater than 20 bobbing up on London’s Oxford Street. But these shops are sometimes run out of shell corporations and keep away from paying full enterprise charges, ripping off taxpayers within the course of.

Westminster City Council is at the moment investigating unpaid enterprise charges of round £9 million from 26 retailers on the Capital’s iconic procuring avenue. Some £1 million of counterfeit and unlawful items has been seized by the council over the previous 18 months, together with dodgy and unsafe vapes.

Labour urged the Government to trial a “new shops bonus” to incentivise reliable companies and beef up authorized identification necessities for somebody establishing a brand new firm. Under the plans, store homeowners could be provided a three-month enterprise charges vacation of their first yr in new premises.

It would are available in from month seven to 9 to make sure a brand new enterprise is viable and legit earlier than it advantages from taxpayers’ money. The enterprise charge low cost could be paid for by reallocating funding at the moment used to offer three months of ‘empty property relief.’ This reduction at the moment goes to the owner, relatively than serving to new tenants.

Shadow Financial Secretary James Murray mentioned: “Millions of us might be heading to the retailers within the coming days to reap the benefits of the Boxing Day gross sales. However, the sharp rise in dodgy sweet shops has been blighting excessive streets and ripping off the taxpayer.”

Labour has vowed to overhaul business rates if it wins power and toughen up identity requirements for someone setting up a new company to help councils chase down businesses failing to pay their bills.

Cllr Adam Hug, Leader of Westminster City Council, added: “Like councils right across Britain, we want to restore our high streets as the proud centres of local shopping and social life they should be. We have reduced candy stores on Oxford Street by a third, but there is only so much we can do without national government playing its part too.”