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Rating Revaluation
All non- domestic rating assessments are due to be revised and will take effect on 1st April 2010 – this revision will have a direct affect on the level of business rates you are liable to pay.
Why a 2010 revaluation ?
Every 5 years the Valuation Office is required to revalue all non-domestic properties in England and Wales in order to re-align values with changes in the market place. For all non-domestic properties the revaluation will be based on values in the marketplace on 1st April 2008. For the majority of commercial properties this is based on their rental level at that date. The average increase for England is 19% but this is only an average and lots of properties have increased higher than that and quite a lot have reduced in value.
Financial implications
Although on average the assessments have gone up the rate poundage which is the other half of the equation when working out your rate bill has gone down. The standard rate this year is 48.5p but from 1st April the new rate poundage is 41.4p. a decrease of 14%.
Transition
The government which sets the rate poundage does like to make things complicated. Although they want to reflect the revised levels of rent in the market place they don’t want the amounts that individuals and companies pay change too drastically so they introduce an item called transition. This limits the amount of increases and decreases on this years and future rate payments based on your bill for the current year. By limiting the amount, some rate demands can fall this pays the shortfall (they call it a surcharge) on the demands that should be going up.
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If you need advise contact Erica Barker on 01635 589119 or on ericabarker@highcross.co.uk
