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Business chiefs have pleaded with councils not to turn the financial screws, as the economy shows signs of slowing down. Retailers such as Marks & Spencer have reported that conditions on the high street are getting tougher, and are bracing themselves for hard times ahead. The British Retail Consortium said monthly sales figures for December 2007 were the worst since March 2006, and an economic slowdown was being widely predicted for the coming 12 months. ‘However, while there is set to be a slowdown in the economy, we do not expect a multitude of closures on the high street,' said a British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) spokesman. ‘If councils are concerned about the outlook for business then they should stop planning to introduce the myriad of taxes they are lining up to hit businesses with, to make up for the poor financial settlement they got from the Government.' A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said councils were ‘imposing ever-higher parking fees and punitive penalties to park in the centre of towns', while, at the same time, giving the green light to large, out-of-town shopping centres. But, if the economy does slow down, it will not just be private companies which face hardship. Alison Scott, local government analyst at CIPFA, said: ‘Local authorities have long been working to promote strong and dynamic town centres as part of their economic regeneration responsibilities, and the current downturn in high street spending makes that task all the more difficult. For some authorities, a sustained downturn rate may also have a knock-on impact on local authorities' revenues, through reductions in business rate income received through BIDs and LABGI, and commercial rents on their investment properties.'

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BUSINESS

Firms' tax plea to councils amid fears over economy

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