March 2005
Rating Revaluation 2005
Small Business Rate Relief
The 2005 revaluation of business rates comes into effect next month and along with the revision of rateable values, the Government has brought in new regulations to help small businesses in England only.
The relief available will depend on the new rateable value and is summarised below.
Is more than one business rate bill paid?
Relief is generally only available if one business rate bill is being paid, (any Council Tax bill can be ignored) however, if any other rate bills are being paid, for example for a car park, garage or storage space, and the rateable values of these total less than £2,200 Rateable Value and the sum of all the Rateable Values, including the principal building is less than £15,000 Rateable Value, then relief is available.
The rating authority will levy a rate of 41.5 pence, as opposed to the general multiplier of 42.2 pence. This saves £7.00 for each £1000 of Rateable Value.
Is the Rateable Value less than £10,000?
In these cases relief will be granted on a sliding scale, ranging from 50% at a rateable value of £5,000 or less, to 1% at a rateable value of £9,900. The relief reduces by 1% for each £100 Rateable Value above £5,000:
For example; at a Rateable Value of
£5,000 bill reduced by 50%
£6,000 bill reduced by 40%
£7,500 bill reduced by 25%
£9,000 bill reduced by 10%
To obtain relief a ratepayer must make application to the rating authority within a period of six months before the start of the rate year until six months after the end of the rate year. It must be applied for each year.