Everything you need to know about business rates, but were afraid to ask
"The opposition from businesses on the grounds of their cost is rather
strange, because it's not occupiers that end up taking the financial
hit. Rather, it's land owners. This is the so called "incidence" of a
tax, who ends up shouldering it"
Given that a much higher proportion of residential land is owner occupied compared to commercial land, opposition to higher taxation of such is understandable until you observe that the highest value land is not majority owner occupied (London is majority rented). A very small but vocal group of residential landowners would lose out.
Debate Magazine
