QUOTE (blackdog @ Sep 28 2009, 03:13 PM)
How do you decide which businesses to protect from competition? How would you propose that we regulate the retail trade to ensure that the smaller businesses survive? Retail shopping is democracy in action, people vote with their wallets and go where they can shop more cheaply or more conveniently - is it the government's business to go against what the people evidently want?
Sadly the politicians are failing to deal with the problem that large successfuk companies often easily have the finances to do what they want, alot of small traders seriously struggle to pay the leases on the units in this town which are well known to be very high. I know what our office pays in rent and council tax, its scary.
So how do you regulate - maybe a portion of the business rates that large companies pay such as Vodafone, Tesco, Waitrose etc needs to be redistributed to reduce council tax on small business premises under a certain size.
A windfall tax on the banks that are starting to make a lot of money again (before they dish it out in bonuses)?
If there are empty units (offices and shops) in the town why not encourage a reduction in the council tax to increase occupancy.
I just think its time the pendulum swung the other way a bit. Afterall the more trade the town can bring in, this will create increased footfall for the big shops too - is that not fair and democratic ?