Andrew Hetherton, Business Rates Director at GL Hearn, has been elected President of the Rating Surveyors’ Association (RSA), having held the position of Vice President of the RSA for the last year. He took on the position of President on 27th March, in succession to Robert Seares.
On the appointment, Andrew Hetherton, said: “We are at a critical point for everyone in the RSA and all ratepayers especially in light of the proposed deferment of the 2015 Revaluation. In addition, there is no let-up in the flawed approach to empty property rates, which stifles development. Other developments such as the introduction of the new Business Rates Retention scheme will impact on local authority funding and again will be a factor to consider.
“Real property represents a declining proportion of the total economy and it makes little sense to keep increasing the tax take from it. There are also fundamental concerns about the clearance of proposals to alter the rating list and the unnecessarily protracted and complex process that follows if agreement cannot be reached. There needs to be a review of the actions government takes in order to address the considerable financial burden imposed on all ratepayers.”