Second-Hand Bookshops in Britain: 2024 Report

The proliferation of charity and community bookshops is substantially the product of tax policy. Commercial property is taxed at ~50% of the nominal rental value, but charities are substantially or wholly exempt from this tax. Importantly, this tax is owed regardless of whether the property is occupied; for a commercial landlord, it is therefore preferable to lease a unit to a charity at a peppercorn rent if the unit is expected to remain vacant for some time. This has had a profound effect on the makeup of retail tenants, particularly in small towns with high vacancy rates, which some argue amounts to a harmful market distortion.