Q: I have been in business for 16 months now and my business rates last year were £1691 for the year. It has gone up to £2095 this year. Is this increase normal?
Aug 04 2009
Answered by: Clive Lewis Ask a question
There is an excellent fact sheet on Business Rates issued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). It can be found at:
Every non-domestic property has a rateable value. For the current rating list the value was last set as 1 April 2003. To maintain fairness in the rating system, the VOA carries out a revaluation of all rateable values in England and Wales every five years. The next revaluation is due to come into effect on 1 April 2010 and all properties will have their rateable value assessed on the valuation date of 1 April 2008.
Once a business’ rateable value is set, it is up to the local authority to calculate the amount the business has to pay. The calculation is based on the rateable value and a ‘multiplier’ (a rate in the pound). The business may then be entitled to some relief, which is deducted before the final liability to business rates is calculated. The multipliers are as follows for business premises in England (Wales has different rates and relief):
| 2008/9 Rate in the pound |
2009/10 Rate in the pound |
Percentage Increase | |
| Business multiplier | 46.2p | 48.5p | 5% |
| Small busines multiplier | 45.8p | 48.1p | 5% |
So your 2008/9 cost of £1,691 should have increased by 5% to £1,776, not the figure of £2,095. So the increase is greater than it should be. It might be that the property has been re-rated but I would have thought that you would have been aware of this. It might also be that some relief has been lost between 2008/9 and 2009/10, or it might be a mistake has been made.
You need to contact your local authority to find out why the increase is greater than applying the multiplier to last year’s cost.
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