Online Business Rate forms
Check or update your Non-Domestic Rates account
Budget announcement on Small Business Rate Relief:
In the budget on 23rd March 2011, the Government announced that the Business Rate Relief holiday for small firms is extended for another year and have released an information letter, which is available to download at the bottom of this page.
No further information has been released and we will keep you updated when more details are received from the Government.
This change will not affect your rates bill until your October 2011 instalment and you should therefore continue to pay in accordance with your latest bill.
What is National Non-Domestic Rate?
The National Non-Domestic Rate, or Business Rate as it is commonly called, is a national tax on businesses to help finance the cost of local services.
It was introduced in April 1990 as a replacement for locally set general rates, and the money collected from businesses is paid into a central pool maintained by the Government.
How money is used
This money is then redistributed through Government grants to bodies like the fire and police authorities and to local councils.
This method ensures that areas with relatively few businesses or where property values are generally low are not disadvantaged.
- The business rate bill is based on the rateable value of each property, which has a multiplier applied to it.
- The rateable value is decided by the Valuation Office Agency (which is part of the Inland Revenue), and the Government fixes the multiplier each year. By law, this multiplier cannot rise by more than the amount of the increase in the Retail Price Index.
- From 2005/06 there are two multipliers; the standard one for 2011/12 is 43.3 pence in the pound, and the small business multiplier for 2011/12 is 42.6 pence in the pound.
- Although the City Council collects the Business Rate the decision on how much you have to pay is outside its control. The rateable value is decided by the Valuation Office Agency, and the Government sets the multiplier.
All businesses are sent an annual bill in March for the financial year that begins on 1st April, which is payable by instalments. There are various reductions in charge available, and these are explained in the following pages.
The Government has also set up a website at business Link where you can find more information. The site is a partnership between the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), and is aimed at the smaller, independent ratepayer.
