The hopes and fears of many ratepayers, along with quite a few rating professionals, have been focused on the Chancellor’s Budget announcements.
As expected, earlier today the Chancellor responded to the fierce lobbying from many businesses, trade bodies and a number of MPs from his own
party, by making following announcements:-
Capping business rate rises at £50 a month for those losing the benefit of Small Business
Rate Relief.
£1,000 discount on pubs (if they have an assessment that falls below RV£100,000)
£300m discretionary relief available to Local Authorities fund to tackle issues of hardship
These measures will probably be welcomed by many smaller businesses, but the general consensus still remains one of sheer frustration with the business rates system – particularly for organisations with a property receiving a significant increase in its 2017 List Rateable Value that is over RV£100,000.
Alas, the Chancellor didn’t see fit to reduce the eye-watering 44% uplift cap in the Transitional Adjustments for those classed as a ‘Large’ occupier!
As the Chancellor also confirmed that business rates are a significant ‘cash cow’ in these austere times (not his exact wording), the likelihood of any radical change to the way in which this property tax is calculated seems to have been shelved by the government, at least for the foreseeable future (although more regular Revaluations would help).
In our view, this means the focus must shift onto what can be done to mitigate rate liabilities over the next 5 years, especially as the new 2017/18 rate bills are now landing.
While the complexity of the new ‘Check, Challenge, Appeal’ regime remains unknown at this point in time, even the pre-registration process that will be introduced for ratepayers and agents appears to be part of a tactical plan by the Treasury, DCLG and Valuation Office Agency to make the appeals process as complicated as a possible…when the exact opposite is required!
As we move ahead to the 2017 Rating Revaluation, from April onwards the old saying ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ represents sensible advice for ratepayers.
