Due to the September 2012 Retail Price Index increasing by 2.6% over the previous year, business rates in England & Wales increased similarly from 1st April 2013 reports Marcus Andrews FRICS of Goadsby. The total effect of RPI-driven increases in the past 3 years has seen the average rate demand rise by 13.4%.
“Business rates are a tax on the occupation of commercial property. Very few businesses qualify for a number of reliefs and exemptions, (mostly small businesses and charities)”. Says Marcus Andrews of Goadsby. The majority of occupiers (plus owners of un-let properties) are liable to pay this tax.
The annual increase in the business rate is limited by statute, with the September RPI used to determine the rate of increase effective from April the following year.
The 2.6% RPI rise compares favorably with increases announced in previous years (+5.6% in 2011, +4.6% in 2010) but in extremely difficult trading conditions, any rise will have a substantial impact upon the trading viability for many businesses.
“My campaign last year to change to Consumer Price Index (CPI) that was only 2.2% last September has not been heeded; a local MP did, on my behalf, did table a Parliamentary question seeking a change” he reports.
