Traditional high streets are at an unfair disadvantage because the tax system favours internet businesses, Ministers have been told.
Blaydon MP Liz Twist said a quarter of jobs in her constituency, which includes the Metrocentre, are in retail.
But many shops have faced closure, including Homebase, Toys R Us and House of Fraser.
And she said that although the House of Fraser in Gateshead’s Metro centre had enjoyed a respite, its future remained uncertain.
Ms Twist said: “Radical action is needed so that we can stop the situation teetering into crisis and think of a plan that will allow the sector to remain vibrant and become stronger.”
She led a Parliamentary debate, she said shops remain a major source of employment but too little is being done to protect them,
And she called for changes to business rates. At the moment, traditional shops have to pay a property tax which does not apply in the same way to online businesses without physical premises.
Ms Twist urged the government to consider proposals from trade union USDAW, which is calling for a fundamental reform of business rates; a review of town and city centre parking charges; reform of the tax laws to ensure that companies pay their fair share of tax and to create more of a level playing field between online and bricks-and-mortar retailers; closing the pay gap between chief executive officers and the lowest paid workers and stronger corporate governance rules to curb asset stripping, which has been one of the issues the retail sector has faced.
She also said that it should not be possible for executives to receive massive bonuses when a business was failing.
“Nationally, retail employs 3 million people, with an additional 1.5 million jobs dependent on the success of the retail industry
“Retail produces 11% of the UK’s economic output and approximately £7 billion in business rates, which is far higher than any other industry. It is the largest private sector employer in the UK and the second largest contributor of tax.”
But she warned: “The British Retail Consortium estimates that 74,000 retail jobs were lost in 2018.”
