You may notice there are plenty of 'people' stories in today's Weekly Update - which is just the way we like it, because people are the lifeblood of this industry.

We have new people joining companies, people moving up the ladder, people taking on new franchises and people moving on after many years service. It's stories like these which are Service Dealer's bread and butter. We always want to hear what all our readers are up to, so please do keep us informed.

It's just like you, with your customers. You want them coming in and talking to you about their situations, so you are able to find out about them and meet their needs. It's where independent dealers have always thrived, on that personal interaction.

But is all that under threat?

You may have seen the news headlines yesterday which painted quite a depressing picture of our traditional retail environments, with a committee of MPs warning that city centres could become 'ghost towns'. In fact you might not even have needed to see the headlines, you may be feeling this is an unwelcome phenomenon which you have first hand experience of in your area?

According to the BBC report on the MPs findings, to combat this, the government should "level the playing field" for High Street retailers by raising taxes on online sales.

The MPs also called for lower business rates and more regeneration in town centres. 

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee cited the statistic that at the moment a fifth of UK retail sales now occur online, with that proportion likely to grow. And with that being the case, surely something has to be done to make it a fairer working environment for all businesses?

As we are all well aware, bricks and mortar retailers pay much higher business rates than online retailers because of their greater reliance on physical premises.

The BBC pointed out that Amazon UK's rates, for example, are about 0.7% of its UK turnover, while most High Street retailers pay between 1.5% and 6.5%. It's to combat this that the committee of MPs are suggesting that the government should look again at bringing in an online sales tax.

What do dealers think about this though? Do you think it would have a tangible effect on the purchasing habits of consumers? Would you see a positive effect on footfall through your doors if an online sales tax was brought in?

Many would say that something needs to be done if we are to continue to see actual stores and showrooms on our streets exist into the future - so is this the answer?

Elsewhere in the BBC's report it also talks about increasing 'green spaces' in town centres to make them more appealing to visitors. That's a suggestion I'm sure we can all be favour of because machinery is going to have to be purchased from somewhere in order to maintain those spaces!

But what do you think? I'm sure all of us use the internet to make purchases in our everyday lives. Would you be happy to pay that extra tax if it meant that all retailers had this so-called level playing field?

On the other hand, perhaps you are a dealer who does a significant amount of business online? Does the thought of an extra online sales tax concern you?

It would be great to hear a range of opinions from our readers. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below this article.