Changes to small business rate relief could have sting in the tail warns FPB
The Forum of Private Business and property specialist LeaseholdersUnited are warning that changes heralded as making Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) apply automatically could instead lead to councils scrapping the tax break altogether.
The upcoming Localism Bill will end the requirement for businesses to fill in an application form to claim the relief. Instead, the Small Business Rate Multiplier will automatically apply to eligible firms and, according to a government statement, “councils will be free to administer Small Business Rate Relief in a way that best serves local businesses and local needs”.
The Forum’s property adviser, LeaseholdersUnited’s Andrew Bacon, said that small businesses taking on five year leases and paying rents based on the assumption that they will be entitled to automatic Small Business Rate Relief throughout that period could be in for a surprise.
“The recent announcement regarding Small Business Rate Relief has only made the Small Business Rate Multiplier automatic, which will result in a 2% drop in rate liability for businesses which haven’t claimed - a trivial sum,” explained Bacon. “Removing the need to fill in a form to claim SBRR is only a ‘positive’ if SBRR is genuinely made automatic, as it is in Wales. But that is not what is being proposed. It is now to be granted at the discretion of councils.”
To discover if you are eligible for SBRR, you can access LeaseholdersUnited’s eligibility calculator at http://eu.vocuspr.com/Url.aspx?522936x6849328x-6625408.