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23.
November
2017.
BUDGET BUSINESS RATES CHANGES - ONE AND A HALF CHEERS FOR THE CHANCELLOR

PRESS RELEASE

23 November 2017

BUDGET BUSINESS RATES CHANGES -

ONE AND A HALF CHEERS FOR THE CHANCELLOR

 

More frequent business rates revaluations, an earlier switch to using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to calculate business rates, and the abolition of the Staircase Tax were welcomed in the Budget by Martin Cook, Head of Rates and Lease Advisory at Birmingham-based independent commercial property agency KWB, but he says the changes do not go far enough to resolve the current problems in the system.

 

“It’s one and a half cheers for the Chancellor,” says Mr Cook.  “Getting rid of the Staircase tax is to be most welcomed and will help those small businesses which have two separate office spaces in the same building and faced unexpected rates bills which will now be quashed.

 

“Using the CPI as the index for business rate rises, rather than the retail price index (RPI) from April 2018, two years ahead of the planned introduction in April 2020, is expected to save businesses £2.3bn over the next three years.  However, business rates rises next year will still be tied to September’s CPI rate of three per cent.

 

“Reducing business rates revaluations from every five to every three years will help business owners cope with valuation changes which should be smaller, as should the increase in bills.  However, the first three year revaluation won’t take place until 2025, and despite transitional relief many business owners are still struggling with higher bills from the last revaluation in April this year (2017).

 

“Unfortunately there was no pledge to sort out the current difficulties of the new ‘Check Challenge Appeal’ system introduced in April 2017 which makes it much harder for occupiers and their advisers to challenge rates bills, and there was no more money for the Valuation Office to deal with the estimated backlog of over 200,000 appeals.”

 

Business rates remain one of the most complex business taxes.  For further advice and guidance please visit https://kwboffice.com/property-services/occupiers/reduce-my-business-rates/ or call Martin Cook on tel. 0121 233 2330. 

 

With offices in Birmingham and Solihull, KWB is an independent firm of Chartered Surveyors which offers a comprehensive commercial property service and unrivalled market knowledge across the West Midlands.  KWB has been trading for more than 25 years and its senior management team has in excess of 200 years combined professional experience.

 

Picture caption: Martin Cook, Head of Rates and Lease Advisory at KWB.