Heathrow, Gatwick Pay Most Property Tax Despite Coronavirus Hit

(Bloomberg) -- Heathrow and Gatwick airports have topped a list of the biggest commercial property taxpayers in England and Wales, even as the coronavirus pandemic pummels the travel industry.

London's largest airport faces a business-rate bill this tax year of 113.2 million pounds ($140.3 million) even though passenger numbers plunged by 97% in April, according to a report published Monday by Altus Group, a commercial real estate consultancy firm. Gatwick's bill comes in at 29.2 million pounds despite British Airways Plc signaling that it is to retrench its operations and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. quitting the airport.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s new European headquarters ranked third on the list in London, ahead of HSBC Holdings Plc's Canary Wharf premises in fourth. That's after the government announced tax holidays for retailers including luxury department stores Selfridges and Harrods, which would otherwise have ranked third and fourth in the capital, according to the Altus report.

The U.K. government has pledged to review the country's business rates system, which levies taxes based on the value of commercial premises. Brick and mortar retailers have long argued the system benefits online competitors that operate from lower cost warehouses, while infrequent revaluations make it slow to adjust to rapid changes in the property market that can be brought about by events like the virus outbreak.

“Tens of thousands of appeals are currently being brought against this year's tax liabilities on the basis of a material change in circumstance due to the coronavirus crisis,” Robert Hayton, head of U.K. business rates at Altus Group, said in an emailed statement.