What: John Lewis Partnership chair Jason Tarry warned that a tax raid on large stores in the UK Budget on 28 October would trigger a wave of high street closures.

Why it is important: Business rates are already John Lewis's largest cost, ahead of rent. A further tax rise on large stores would push department stores to cut their most expensive assets, the very stores that anchor UK high street footfall.

Jason Tarry, chair of the John Lewis Partnership, has warned chancellor John Healey that taxing department stores and supermarkets in the 28 October Budget would only harm UK high streets. Retailers fear that prime minister Andy Burnham will fund a business rates cut by shifting costs onto larger stores through a "warehouse tax". Tarry said such a tax would hit far more high street shops than warehouses; for John Lewis, it would raise charges on 18 warehouse hubs and 200 stores.

Tarry argued that the plan reflects a misunderstanding of how modern high streets work. Retailers forced to balance the books will look first at their most expensive operations, their stores. He described department stores and large supermarkets as anchor tenants whose footfall sustains surrounding independent shops, pubs, bakeries and cafes.

Following higher business rates on larger warehouses from April 2026 and rising employment costs, Tarry asked Healey for a clear Budget commitment that no high street shop will face higher taxes. He also criticised the government's limited engagement with retail and hospitality on the cross-government high street strategy announced in January, noting that four high street reviews in 15 years had been shelved.

IADS Notes: Tarry's warning comes a year after industry bodies cautioned that a business rates rise could put more than 100,000 UK retail jobs at risk, with department stores and supermarkets facing the steepest bills (Retail Week, October 2025). Costs have continued to rise since then. Retailers absorbed higher National Insurance contributions and minimum wage increases by cutting hours, headcount and pay rises (Financial Times, October 2025). John Lewis Partnership's first-half pre-tax loss widened to £124m from £88m despite 2% sales growth, a result Tarry attributed to the increased cost of doing business (Drapers, September 2026). In the same results period, he named business rates as the retailer's largest cost, ahead of rent, and said head-office job cuts would not be a one-off (Drapers, September 2026), which supports his argument that stores would be the first operations cut if taxes rise further. Government action on high streets has so far focused on property rather than operating costs: Andy Burnham's £210m package funds the redevelopment of derelict buildings, rental auctions and community rescue schemes, adding to the £5bn Pride in Place programme (Retail Week, September 2026).

John Lewis chair warns Budget tax raid on large stores would trigger high street closures