The Conservatives have stepped up their campaign against empty rates, launching a No 10 petition calling for the tax to be scrapped.
Laura Sandys, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for South Thanet, has placed the petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/emptythreat/.
Sandys said: ‘I have seen the devastating effects of empty rates first hand in Thanet, where local businesses are being penalised for being loyal, local citizens and staying true to their roots.
'They have continued to keep their businesses in Kent, pouring their money and efforts into keeping the area vibrant, and are now being stung for a tax on properties they simply cannot use just as recession begins to bite. It’s vital that people all over the country sign this petition.’
The Welsh Assembly has also joined the fight against empty rates, as revealed in Property Week (05.09.08).
Deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: ‘We will be pressing the UK government to exempt employment premises from empty property rates. It is important to stress that it would be difficult for the Assembly Government to do that on its own; a UK-wide approach would be needed for that to be financially possible for us.’
More than 120 MPs have also signed the early day motion calling for the tax to be shelved.
Peter Cosmetatos, the BPF’s director for finance and investment, said: ‘We welcome signs that government is finally beginning to recognise just how damaging some of the unintended consequences of empty rates are proving, particularly in the current economic climate.
'The only real solution is a complete restoration of relief to the position before April 2008.’
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