The increase in the demands for land tax has been a thorn in the side of retailers they say could push their businesses over the edge and cost jobs.

The re-evaluations done earlier this year for businesses and householders have seen retailers' land tax bills rocket, while the business as a whole faces dwindling sales and profits.

Now retailers have asked Eugene Cox to consider reducing the land tax from 6 percent to 4 percent.

"Our stores are always in prime locations, by the nature of what we do,''said George Grundmuller, president and chief executive officer of Phoenix Stores Ltd and a committee member of the retailers association.

"It is our business to have good locations. And we need the square footage.

This has lead to higher valuations.'' At the moment retailers pay 12 percent payroll tax for their employees. They want this reduced to 7 percent, to bring them in line with the hotel trade.

"Our overheads are very high. And payroll tax is another thing that keep the bills piling up,'' said Mr. Smith.

According to David Hamshere, President of the Tess Group which own, among others Ashton and Gunn and the English Sports Shop, higher cost from the new hiked land taxes could lead to the loss of jobs. "The cost of warehousing in my business has gone up 26 percent. And that is a lot of money for dead storage space.

"In this warehouse I have 14 or 15 people employed. What I can now do to make up the new cost is pack in stuff, rent out part of the warehouse -- or let go of staff. I simply cannot afford what I have got at the moment.

"The hotel industry gets a concession and I think we also should. We employ a great number of people and if we close it would affect a whole segment of society.

"It is not just the people we employ, but the service we use, such as the telephone, electricity and so on that sustains a great number of people. If we fail, then all that falls through as well.'' BUSINESS BUC