Retailers" tax burden 'up by 65pc since 2005" The tax burden for Britain's leading retailers has increased by 65pc since 2005, driven by an 80pc increase in taxes outside of corporation tax, such as business rates, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ian Cheshire, the chief executive of DIY retailer Kingfisher and chairman of the British Retail Consortium, said the tax system for retailers is "unsustainable." He added: "Ultimately, the tax take will start to fall. We have to find a Plan B. Mr Cheshire and Justin King, the chief executive of supermarket chain J Sainsbury, have held discussions with the Treasury about the imbalance in tax between high street retailers with shops and shop workers, compared to online retailers. While high street retailers must pay national insurance for staff and business rates on their property - which can cost almost 50pc of the rental value - online retailers face no equivalent tax. The BRC has set up a working group to consider alternative taxation methods for the sector, possibly including a transaction tax. The PwC survey is based on companies in the Hundred Group, a collection of Britain's largest businesses. It said that retailers now pay a total tax rate of 59pc, compared to 39pc for other industries. This meant that the leading retailers paid £3.99bn in tax in 2012, compared with £3.86bn in 2011. Mary Monfries, head of tax policy at PwC, said: "Governments looking for stable tax revenues have rebalanced business taxes so there is less reliance on corporation tax, which is inevitably volatile as it is dependent on profits. For every £1 of corporation tax, the UK's largest retailers now pay almost £2.40 in other taxes out of their profits. The rise in business rates in particular is felt by retailers, given their large property portfolios.