Labor has promised to overhaul the business rates system to help revitalize the High Street if elected in the UK general election.
The party did not specify what would replace the current business rates system, but said the reforms would level the playing field for high street firms against online rivals.
The party first set out a plan to support Britain’s small businesses back in november.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said “hard-working small businesses have been held back”.
Business rates are taxes on non-residential property such as pubs, restaurants, warehouses, factories, shops and offices.
The amount businesses pay is based on how much annual rent can be charged on the premises – known as rateable value.
The central government has a considerable amount of control over business rates in England, but they are levied by local authorities.
On Saturday, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC Labor “wants to reform the business rates system in a way that reduces costs for small businesses and the high street and ensures that some large multinationals and technology companies pay their fair share”.
The party would also create “banking hubs” to give small businesses and customers easy access to cash on the High Street, Ms Reeves said.
As part of the package of measures, Labor says it will crack down on late bill payments through new legislation to force big businesses to reveal their payment practices, as well as reinvigorate the High Street by cracking down on anti-social behaviour.
Labor is also planning new laws to allow smaller firms to qualify for public contracts.
It is trying to push the mantle as a business party that is traditionally associated with the Conservatives.
Ms Reeves was joined on the campaign trail by retail guru Mary Portas, who defected to Labor after advising David Cameron’s coalition government in 2010 on how to revive High Streets.
Ms Portas said high streets were vital to “communities and their well-being”.
She described small businesses as the “backbone of our economy” which had been “horribly left behind” during the COVID-19 pandemic as shopping habits moved online.
Ms Portas also praised plans to crack down on late payments because “cash flow is vital” for independent businesses.
Previous research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) indicated that more than half of the small businesses it surveyed in 2022 had experienced late payments in the previous three months.
Tina McKenzie, FSB policy chair, said it was “good to see Labor addressing late payments” and that eyes would now “turn to the launch of their manifesto to see if the party takes a small business approach”.
Speaking ahead of Labour’s small business event on Saturday, Sir Keir said business people faced economic instability because of “Tory chaos”.
But Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said “Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have a record of taking bold action to support small businesses”.
He pointed to previous measures taken by the government, such as freezing business rates for hospitality establishments during the pandemic, when trade was hit by the blockade.
Drew Hendry, the SNP’s economic spokesman, suggested Labour’s plans were “empty promises” for Scotland’s small business owners.
He added that the SNP had already established a Scottish National Investment Bank but called for the removal of “red tape, higher costs and work visa blocks created by Brexit”.
Meanwhile, a Lib Dem spokesman said the Conservative Party had “completely failed business owners time and time again” and would also focus on “overhauling” the business rates system.