At the end of September, the government released details of the long-awaited business rates revaluation that will take effect next April, determining the rateable values and business rates multiplier that all businesses will have to pay. Overall, rateable values look to have gone up on average, while the business rates multiplier has gone down.
So how will retailers be affected? On average, those in London, the South East or the East Midlands will pay more next year, with retailers in London being the hardest hit.
In other areas, the average rateable values have reduced slightly which, when coupled with a reduction in the business rates multiplier, could be good news for many.
While the revaluation marks a significant milestone, the government is still a long way from the job being done. We have been campaigning for reform in many aspects of the business rates system, making rates reform the central part of our submission to Chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of the Autumn Statement.
For rates bills to be fair, all business types need to pay their fair share. The turnover-based model unfairly targets forecourts and ATM machines. We have called on the government to review this model while at the same time looking at the rates paid by internet distribution warehouses, which are low given the impact they’re having on the retail market.
We will continue to lobby government to make the case for our sector, and we want to hear from you about what’s happened to your rates bills so that we can build our evidence base for reform. You can get in touch with us by emailing steve.dowling@acs.org.uk
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