Leading British authors including Sir Philip Pullman have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to intervene and save independent bookshops from crippling tax bills.
More than 200 independent bookshop owners have signed a letter warning that soaring business rates could force many shops out of business and worsen a growing reading crisis among young people. The campaign calls for booksellers to be included in the business rates relief scheme introduced last month for pubs and bars.
Business rates are property taxes levied on commercial premises across England and Wales. Mr Burnham granted pubs and live-music venues a 20 per cent discount on their business rates in one of his first acts as Prime Minister, but retail stores were not included in the tax cut.
Sir Philip Pullman, best known for his fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, joined children's laureate Patrice Lawrence in backing the appeal. Other authors supporting the campaign include Adam Kay, author of the junior doctor memoir This Is Going To Hurt, Hamnet author Maggie O'Farrell, and Florence Knapp, author of The Names.
Sir Philip Pullman described independent booksellers as essential cultural beacons. "In the current encircling corporate darkness, independent booksellers are lighthouses," Pullman said. "They are almost the last beacons shining to remind us about private reading, personal discovery, and the life-saving joy of encountering minds and hearts that speak to us as one person to another. They deserve every kind of legal and financial protection a good government would give them."
Rising tax bills and pricing constraints
The letter, organised by trade body The Booksellers Association, outlines the financial pressure facing local shops. About 400 independent bookshops in England and Wales face an average increase in their business rates of £4,563 a year by 2030.
Bookshops face additional challenges because they cannot easily raise prices to offset higher operating costs. Unlike other high street retailers, booksellers generally stick to the recommended retail prices printed on the back of books.
Authors and booksellers expressed growing frustration over repeated claims from the Treasury that it has supported the retail sector through business rates reform. Many traders were left bruised after being promised assistance ahead of last year's Budget, only to face higher rates under former chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The letter highlighted that bookshops provide vital services beyond selling books. Data from the trade body shows that 92 per cent of independent bookshops run community events that support literacy, host school visits and reading groups, champion authors and publishers, and keep high streets vibrant.
Literacy crisis and upcoming Budget
Writers warned that the loss of independent bookshops would harm literacy among children. Reading for pleasure among eight to 18-year-olds has dropped to its lowest level since records began in 2005.
The letter pointed out a clear conflict in official policy. "The Government is rightly telling the country that reading matters," the letter stated. "But as things stand, its legacy risks being contradictory: promoting reading on the one hand while implementing policies that reduce investment in bookshops and may contribute to their closure on the other."
The authors argued that offering targeted tax relief to bookshops would require a modest expenditure by the Treasury while providing enormous benefit to local communities. "A few thousand pounds can determine whether a shop employs another bookseller, runs community events, supports local schools, invests in stock or remains open at all," the letter said.
Mr Burnham has pledged to go further on business rates reform, raising hopes of action before Chancellor John Healey delivers his first Budget on October 28.
