In the March 2017 Budget announced yesterday (Wednesday 8th March 2017), the Chancellor stated that:
“The business rates revaluation takes effect in England from April 2017. In addition to the £3.6 billion transitional relief already announced in November 2016, the government will provide £435 million of further support for businesses facing significant increases in bills from the English business rates system. This includes:
- Support for small businesses losing Small Business Rate Relief to limit increases in their bills to the greater of £600 each year
- Support providing English local authorities with funding to support £300 million of discretionary relief, to allow them to provide support to individual hardship cases in their local area.
- The government will also introduce a £1,000 business rate discount for public houses with a rateable value of up to £100,000, subject to state aid limits for businesses with multiple properties, for one year from 1 April 2017.”
Businesses should be aware that we are still awaiting further details/instructions from Central Government on the administration of these schemes, and therefore any changes are not yet reflected in the business rate demands for 2017/2018, dated 10th March 2017.
Please therefore make payments in accordance with the 2017/2018 demand. Anyone affected by the changes will be contacted and issued with adjusted demands as appropriate.