Should Rishi Sunak combine a new digital sales tax with a reduction in business rates on bricks-and-mortar shops? It’s a beguiling package: popular, intuitively fair, simple, kills two birds with one stone. “Chancellor taxes Amazon to save the Covid-ravaged high street” would not be an unwelcome headline in Downing Street.
Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.
For a start, retail is not the Manichean world divided into digital and physical camps as is so often presented. There are shades of grey. Some high street retailers have significant digital sales.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies