A number of large British companies are hoping to convince the government to reinstate
tax relief on empty properties.
Businesses including B&Q, British Airways, Legal & General and Next have written an open letter to Gordon Brown to warn of the "crippling effect" the empty property
tax is having on the UK economy.
Changes to legislation now mean that businesses have to pay full business rates for an empty site after a designated period, being three months for commercial premises and six months for industrial property or warehouses.
Previously, vacant offices or shops received 50 per cent rate relief and industrial sites benefited from full relief.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said the prime minister needs to "act now to undo this mess".
She added: "It's like making the unemployed pay income
tax.
"Taxing hardship and business failure is a ludicrous way to help people through the hard times."
A study by the Tenon Group recently found that 26 per cent of UK business owners are thinking about relocating from the UK due to the high levels of corporation
tax.
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