Rother District Council

• Business rates calculation
• Current valuation check
• 2010 Revaluation
• How to Pay

For General Information, Contact Details, relevant forms and information on how How to Pay your Business Rates, refer to related pages.

The Non-Domestic Rates collected by billing authorities (District and London Borough Councils, the Common Council of the City of London, the Isle of Wight Council and the Council for the Isles of Scilly) are, subject to special arrangements for the City of London, paid into a central pool and re-distributed to billing authorities and major precepting authorities. Your authority's share of re-distributed rate income, together with income from its Council Taxpayers, Revenue Support Grant provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by your authority and other local authorities in your area.

How business rates are calculated

Premises that are subject to business rates are given a rateable value by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). Local authorities use the VOA's assessment of a property's rateable value to calculate business rates bills. The rateable value is based on the likely annual open market rent for the premises at a particular date.

Rateable values are reviewed every five years - this is called a revaluation. Properties that have been changed since the last revaluation (eg extended) can be reassessed.

Check the details of your 2010 valuation on the VOA website.

To assess the rateable value, factors such as the size of the premises and how they are used are taken into account. Different parts of the premises may be valued at different levels. For example, the front part of a shop, nearest the entrance, is more valuable than space further back or storage space in the basement.

Details of the rateable value, and how it has been calculated, are shown on a valuation for the property. Find the current rateable value of a property in England or Wales and view the valuation on the VOA website.

The business rates you are charged are calculated using the rateable value and the multiplier* set by the government. In England, the standard multiplier for the financial year 2012-13 is 45.8 pence. For example, a property with a rateable value of £10,000 is normally charged £4,580, excluding any discounts or reductions that may be applicable.

Different multipliers are used for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

There are reductions in the rates payable for many small businesses, and if the premises are empty. See the page in this guide on business rates reliefs.

The rateable value of a property from April 2010 onwards represents its open market rental value as at 1st April 2008.

* The National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier is the rate in the pound by which, outside of the City of London where special arrangements apply, the rateable value is multiplied to produce the annual rate bill for a property. It is set annually by the Government and except in a revaluation year, (see below) cannot, by law, rise by more than the amount of the increase in the retail prices index. Because of the introduction of Small Business Rate Relief, there were two rates in the pound from 2005/06 onwards. For 2005/06, the figure of 42.2p applies to all properties where the Small Business Rate Relief does not apply, and 41.5p applies to all properties where qualification for SBRR has been confirmed. For 2006/07 the rates are 43.3p and 42.6p respectively,  2007/08 44.4p and 44.1p, 2008/09 46.2p and 45.8p, 2009/10 48.5p and 48.1p, 2010/2011 41.4p and 40.7p, 2011/2012 43.3p and 42.6p and 2012/2013 45.8p and 45.0p

Annual Business Rate bills are issued at the end of March each year, in respect of the amount due for the year commencing on 1st April. Where the liability for Business Rates does not cover a full financial year, for example, where a person moves into a property during the year, the amount of rates payable will be adjusted on a daily basis, by dividing the yearly amount by 365 and multiplying the result by the number of days of liability in the financial year including an extra day for 29th February when relevant. 

2010 Revaluation.

What is revaluation?

· Revaluation is the review of the rateable values of all business and non domestic property in England and Wales

· The revaluation takes account of changes in the rental market and redistributes the total amount of business rates paid

· Revaluation does not raise any extra revenue at all

· It takes place every 5 years - the most recent valuation came into effect on 1 April 2010

http://www.voa.gov.uk/2010/REG/ndr2010-dc-REG-rateable-value.html

Why do you carry out a revaluation?

· We have a legal duty to carry out a revaluation every 5 years

· The main purpose of revaluation is to maintain fairness in the rating system

· This is necessary because the relative value of business premises changes over time - some areas become more in demand and so values rise relative to the national average, in other areas demand and values fall relative to the national average

· Revaluation ensures that each business pays rates based on up to date information

· Revaluation is not new - it has been carried out regularly since 1990

Isn't it just about raising more money?

· No. Revaluation does not raise any extra revenue

· The sole purpose is to redistribute the overall rates bill from those areas or property types that have declined in value (relative to the average) to those areas or property types that have increased in value (relative to the average)

· If the national total rateable value increases after revaluation so the rate multiplier is reduced to give the same national rates bill as before revaluation

http://www.voa.gov.uk/2010/REG/ndr2010-dc-REG-the-rates-bill.html

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