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If elected in the UK general election, the Labour Party has promised to overhaul the business rates system to help revitalise high streets.
The party did not specify what it would replace the current business tax system but said reforms would level the playing field between city centre businesses and their online rivals.
The party first put forward plans in November last year setting out how it wanted to support small businesses in the UK.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “stifling hard-working small businesses”.
Business tax is a tax levied on non-residential properties such as pubs, restaurants, warehouses, factories, shops and offices.
The amount a business pays is based on the amount of annual rent it can charge for the building, which is its taxable assessed value.
In England, business rates are levied by local authorities, although the central government has fairly tight control over them.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC on Saturday that Labour wants to “reform the business tax system to reduce costs for small businesses and high street businesses and ensure that some of the big multinationals and tech companies pay their fair share”.
Reeves said the party would also create “banking hubs” where small businesses and customers could easily access cash in busy areas.
As part of a package of measures, Labour says it will eradicate late bill payment by bringing in new laws to force big businesses to reveal their payment practices and boost high streets by cracking down on anti-social behaviour.
Labor also plans new laws to allow small businesses to qualify for public contracts.
The party is trying to position itself as the party of business, which has traditionally been associated with the Conservative Party.
Mr Reeves’ campaign was joined by retail guru Mary Portas, who advised David Cameron’s coalition government on revitalising the high street in 2010 before moving to Labour.
Mr Portas said high streets were vital to “communities and their wellbeing”.
She said small businesses are the “backbone of our economy” but have been “seriously left behind” when shopping habits shifted online during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Portas also praised plans to crack down on late payments, saying “cash flow is crucial” for independent businesses.
Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair, said: “It’s good to see Labor addressing the issue of late payments,” and added: “Attention will now be focused on the party’s manifesto to see whether it will take an approach that is favourable to small businesses.”
Speaking ahead of a Labour event on small business on Saturday, Sir Keir said “Tory chaos” had left entrepreneurs facing financial uncertainty.
But Business Secretary Kevin Hollingrake said: “Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party have a track record of taking bold action to support small businesses.”
He pointed to steps the government has taken so far, such as freezing business rates on accommodation, during the pandemic when lockdowns hit trade.
SNP economy spokesman Drew Hendry suggested Labour’s plans were “empty promises” for Scottish small business owners.
He added that the SNP had already set up a Scottish National Investment Bank, but called for removing the “red tape, high costs and worker visa obstacles created by Brexit”.
Meanwhile, a Liberal Democrat spokesman said the Conservatives have “time and time again completely let business owners down” and would also consider a “complete overhaul” of the business tax system.
