Cut Business Rates To Drive Economic Growth

Go down any high street in the UK and you will find large numbers of boarded up stores and lots of "high street" names. What is happening here is that it's only the large national chains who can survive in this economic downturn,  and they are struggling unless they have an efficient online presence. Local retailers simply cannot survive and one of the main ingredients of their struggle is nationally set business rates that make it almost impossible to trade, let alone compete. 

A one off, short term reduction in business rates may seem like a good idea but that would be a temporary measure only. Waiting for a revaluation of the rating system in 2015 makes no sense either, action needs to happen now. 

Business rates need to be slashed dramatically (to 10% of what they are now) in order to get businesses moving again and they need to stay low forever, allowing business to drive forward the economy. Far better for government to get taxation revenue from thriving businesses rather than from dying ones via business rates.