Chancellor Phillip Hammond has announced that small businesses and pubs will receive additional help with potential business rate increases says commercial property agent Prop-Search, in a trio of measures reported in the Budget Statement.
Many small businesses will see their potential business rates liability increase following the revaluation of commercial property for business rates from April. However, as announced yesterday, any small business coming out of Small Business Rates Relief will – under new measures – benefit from an additional cap.
Samantha Jones, an Associate Director at Prop-Search, said: “Ahead of the revaluation, the Government committed to a package of cuts to business rates worth nearly £9 billion. This involves permanently doubling the rate of Small Business Rate Relief – so that small businesses that occupy property with a Rateable Value of £12,000 or less will pay no business rates – and introducing tapered rate of relief on properties with Rateable Values up to £15,000.”
“In addition to this – in response to pressure from within Government as well as the media – Mr Hammond has committed to ensuring that no business losing small business rate relief will see their bill increase by more than £50 a month. Subsequent increases will also be capped at either the transitional relief cap or £50 a month, whichever is higher.”
Secondly, recognising the valuable role that local pubs play within our communities, from April 2017 they will receive a £1,000 discount on business rates bills if their Rateable Values are less than £100,000. This reportedly will apply to 90% of all pubs.
And finally, Mr Hammond has committed to providing a £300 million fund, available to Local Authorities, to deliver discretionary relief to target individual hard cases in their local areas.
Samantha Jones concluded: “As business rates raise approximately £25 billion a year, the Government has made its positon clear – they will not be abolished. However, the Chancellor has admitted there is scope to reform the revaluation process; making it smoother and more frequent, in a bid to avoid potential dramatic increases that the present system can deliver.”
The Government has promised to set out its preferred approach in due course and will consult upon it before the next revaluation is due.
