The early 21st Century saw a dramatic shift from buying products from high street shops to utilising the internet. Many companies tried to transfer their sales to an online platform but struggled to compete while simultaneously owning physical shops. Despite some attempts to keep the high street alive, the inevitable take over by the internet meant that most shops were closing, with the exception of restaurants, take-away, supermarkets and vehicle repair garages among a few other specialist businesses.
By the year 2040 online shopping in the UK was mostly dominated by Amazon with a few smaller niche websites. The online giant held a monopoly on most desired goods and the UK Government realised that action was needed to ensure that UK owned businesses had an opportunity to compete.
The UK Government established a series of policies and laws backed up by the Buy British campaign.
Foreign online companies were unable to buy businesses in the UK without going through a strict government-run competition and consultation process. This helped prevent UK businesses being bought by larger competitors and removed from the market. This policy disproportionately affected American companies which led to increased friction and sour relations between the UK and the USA. However, due to other countries replicating the UK rules it was difficult for the US to target individual nations without wider interference.
The Government also introduced radical VAT and tax breaks for new online retailers. For the first 5 years of operation newly established businesses had VAT on their products reduced or exempt (depending on the product) and were charged less tax. Over the 5 years these rates would gradually increase to match that of established companies. This policy helped to get new businesses off the ground. Existing companies could also apply for similar 2 year plans depending on their profitability, although these were decided on a case-by-case basis.
The Buy British campaign was developed to not only promote products that were British, but also British retailers. Online retailers were advised to show the badge prominently on their website, so people knew they were supporting local and national businesses. As part of the campaign a website was established which automatically listed every business that registered for the Buy British badge. Consumers could then search by the type of products sold, newly established companies and see a list of retailers that currently had sales and promotions. There was also a way to search by location, so although the businesses were online, business owners could decide the spiritual location of the company, often where they lived, so people could choose to support people in their local area.
Due to the gradual conversion of high streets from shops to housing and communal parks/gardens, government income from business rates had fallen significantly. This led to a change in focus so that warehouses, previously subjected to minimal rates, were now taxed higher. Although this wasn’t enough to balance the lost rates it was a step to lower the impact. This had been something people had called out for before the ‘death of the high street’ as one method to equal the tax responsibilities between digital and physical stores, but it was brought in as an after-thought.
Sunsets on Britannia 