The cosy British bookshop is the latest High Street staple to find itself under threat from Labour’s tax raids, as owners warn that soaring bills could push many out of business and exacerbate a reading crisis among UK youngsters.
It means booksellers are now joining publicans, restaurateurs and hoteliers in warning that rising tax bills risk destroying Britain’s retail and hospitality sectors.
About 400 independent bookshops in England and Wales face an average rates bill rise of £4,563 a year by 2030 after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget.
Dan Johns, manager of the Padstow Bookseller, a charming ivy-covered shop on the Cornish coast that caters to tourists and residents alike, told The Mail on Sunday the store would need to sell 1,141 more books a year to offset the £3,461 jump in the firm’s annual rates bill in April.
Surrounded by stacks of the copies needed to make that up, Johns said he felt ‘very buoyant’ two years ago, but that changed when a slew of cost rises including National Insurance Contributions, business rates and wages hit the firm after Labour came to power.
