Do You Rate?

17 Feb 2017

We haven’t heard from the Chamber of Commerce yet, but one business concern regularly high-lighted by McLean Reid on their surveys in business rates.  It seems to us that these accelerate the decline of city and town centres and are just another tax, this time based on an artificial estimate of what the rent should be if you paid rent, or what a fair rent is.  We have some spare office space in the Village of Aylesford available for professional use, but not in use as such.  How will we be rated, and what are the mechanics for advising the Council when we find a tenant?  If Team GB is to prosper post-Brexit, we need to treat businesses fairly and transparently.  This isn’t what happens.

A survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has found 74% of small firms cited the Government’s business rate review among the biggest issues they are facing – double the proportion that mentioned the state of the economy. The survey also found that four in ten expect to see an increase of above 20% in their business rates. And three in ten – 31% - said they were still unsure of what the change will mean to their business. Meanwhile, ministers are facing a growing revolt over the business rates shake-up as leading bodies warned that it could be illegal. Thirteen business groups signed a letter warning small firms could be blocked from appealing against big rises in their rates.  There is a clause which says that even if you win a rates appeal, they may not give you any relief if their overestimate is within “reasonable” limits.  We’ve seen officialdom’s “reasonable” before! Critics argue that this could be illegal under local government finance laws. It has also emerged that some senior MPs have called for an urgent review of business rates to ensure online retailers do no not receive favourable treatment over high street shops. Writing in the Telegraph, the Business Secretary Sajid Javid says businesses have nothing to fear from the changes. He points out that one in three firms will no longer have to pay a single penny and overall the changes will save employers billions of pounds.  Oh, so it’s a tax cut, then?