The new Government's manifesto committed to ‘replace the business rates system', in order to ‘level the playing field between the high street and online giants, better incentivise investment, tackle empty properties and support entrepreneurship'. This is a bold commitment, but it has received almost no attention, even from the obscure cloisters of the local government finance world. This is surprising given the crisis perspective evident throughout the sector.

How could business rates be replaced while simultaneously achieving the Government's other aims? A few options have been floated in recent years, such as localisation of the system, and the Liberal Democrats' Commercial Landlord Levy. Introducing a new tax to replace business rates would be challenging, for a number of reasons: