Ernest Wilson Reviews - Business Rates Review

Ernest Wilson Reviews - Business Rates Review

The government is conducting a wide-ranging review of business rates in response to concerns from many business ratepayers that business rates are in need of reform to make them fit for purpose in a 21st century economy.


During this Parliament, the government has taken action to reduce the burden of business rates on all sectors, with particular support targeted at small businesses and the retail sector. It is also working with businesses and local authorities to bring forward practical changes to the administration of business rates in response to businesses’ calls for clearer billing, better sharing of information and a more efficient appeals system.

The tax system, including business rates, should provide stable and sustainable revenues to fund public services in the least distortive way. The debate about the future of business rates centres on whether the tax is sustainable, fairly targeted and sufficiently flexible to respond to both changing patterns of property usage and conditions in the wider economy. The government wants to ensure the widest possible debate about how the system can be improved to meet these concerns.

Recent changes allowing local authorities to retain a percentage of the business rates they collect have concentrated thoughts on whether the system could better incentivise investment and growth. Some have put forward suggestions for changing the way that business rates raise revenue, ranging from major changes (such as basing them on business turnover) to adaptations of the existing system (such as changing the frequency of revaluations).
Others have highlighted the value of keeping business rates broadly as they are to retain stability and predictability which allows both businesses and local authorities to make decisions with improved certainty and confidence.

So while there is agreement across business sectors that the business rates system is in need of reform, there is no clear consensus on how best to achieve this. This is why we want to take the opportunity to undertake a thorough, wide-ranging and robust examination of the existing business rates system and to explore options for future reform.

This document confirms the terms of reference for this review and provides further context for its aims and core themes. This is the biggest review of business rates in a generation and we would urge businesses, local communities and others to get involved. We want to hear views from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the review’s outcomes are informed by a broad and open discussion and that they balance the concerns of central government, local government and business ratepayers. The review will report its findings by Budget 2016.
For further information visit the following link

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/business-rates-review-terms-of-reference-and-discussion-paper

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