Responding to the news yesterday (March 16) that the Government has launched a review into business rates, Jeremy Bailey, a director at JLL in Bristol, said:
“We are pleased to see that the Government has launched a review into business rates – which was first announced at the Autumn Statement last year – and look forward to seeing the results next year. The existing business rates system has been criticised widely due to the fact that businesses are still being charged based on pre–recessionary levels of value from April 2008 and these will not now be adjusted for a further two years to take into account changes in the marketplace. One solution would be more frequent revaluations to reflect the economic swings businesses face. We would encourage businesses to take part in the review ahead of the June 12 deadline to ensure their views are represented when the Government reports back ahead of the 2016 budget. It is unlikely any fundamental changes to the system will be implemented until then so unfortunately, this means that, in the meantime, struggling businesses will continue to pay rates that are linked to pre-recession rental values.”
