Small businesses across the central south region are being urged to take advantage of beneficial changes in rate relief regulations being introduced in April.
In what is being described as the biggest change in a generation, the threshold for 100% Small Business Rates Relief will double to £12,000 alongside a major re-assessment of rateable values.
That means businesses occupying properties with a rateable value of less than £12,000 will pay nothing and others will receive tapered relief.
However, Dean Speer, a Partner at property consultancy Myddelton & Major, says it is not given automatically and has to be claimed.
He said: “It is important that businesses ensure that they are claiming Small Business Rate Relief if they are they are entitled to. To claim SBRR a business must only occupy one commercial property.”
“Businesses should check their rateable value because, as well as this change to SBRR, there has been a re-evaluation of all commercial properties from April.
“To apply for the Relief businesses simply have to fill in a form provided by their local authority.”
“Across the country it is thought that around 600,000 small businesses will pay no business rates at all – a saving worth up to £5,900 in 2017-18, with an additional 50,000 benefiting from tapered relief.”
The threshold for 100% relief will rise to £12,000 from £6,000 with tapering relief between £12,000 and £15,000.
Businesses in the countryside with a local population below 3,000 can get between 50-100% off their rates. Charities and sports clubs get up to 80% rate relief.
Empty, newly-occupied properties, and businesses in enterprise zones can also apply for relief. Some properties, such as agricultural land or religious buildings are exempt.
