One of the West Midlands’ leading property consultants has slammed the Government’s decision to postpone the next business rates revaluation from 2015 to 2017 as “cowardly”.
Redditch-based John Truslove said: “This shows what a cynical short-term plain cowardly policy our ‘Leaders’ have on Business Rates, and a naive one to boot.
“Without doubt, West Midlands rateable values would have been reduced significantly, some dramatically, in the 2015 revaluation.
“Without a major upwards adjustment in rates in the £, revenue would have been seriously diminished.”
He said that George Osborne and his Treasury staff should have the guts to admit they cannot afford to lose Rating revenue.
Announcing the delay, Brandon Lewis MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: “Business rates are the third biggest outgoing for local firms after rent and staff costs. This decision will avoid local firms and local shops facing unexpected hikes in the business rates bill over the next five years.”
But Mr Truslove countered: “This may be true for the south east but not for the West Midlands – which stood to gain significantly from the revaluation.
“Being honest with the business ratepayer might have risked losing some votes, but coming clean would have indicated that the Government credits the business ratepayer with a degree of intelligence.
“This shabby ploy does not.”
The decision has been described by industry experts as “perverse” and a decision that will not produce the claimed benefits.
Retailers and the property industry have criticised the way in which the system is structured, claiming that five year revaluations means that rates are often dramatically out of step with contemporary rents and values.
The British Property Federation said the decision would lead to businesses continuing to pay business rates based on 2008’s top-of-the-market rents.