Business Rates
What are Business Rates?
Business Rates are a contribution to the cost of local services
(such as Education, Social Services, Highways Maintenance, Street
Lighting) provided by local authorities.
The Business Rates collected by each Welsh local authority are
paid to the National Assembly for Wales who give the income back to
local authorities based on the population of each authority.
As far as Neath Port Talbot is concerned, for 2008/09 we will be
collecting around £35m but will be receiving around £36m from the
National Assembly.
Business Rates are paid by most non-domestic properties. The
main exceptions are farm buildings and land, churches, and public
parks.
Where a property has both a domestic and non-domestic part (for
example, a shop with living accommodation), it is known as a
'composite' property. In these cases, Business Rates are paid for
the non-domestic part and Council Tax for the domestic part.
Business Rates are property based and are calculated by
multiplying the property's rateable value by the rating multiplier
(a rate in the pound). Rateable values are determined by the
Valuation Officer (see Rateable values
for more information), while the rating multiplier is set by the
National Assembly for Wales. The rating multiplier is the same
across the whole of Wales, although it is different from the rating
multiplier in England which is set by the DTLR (Department for
Transport, Local Government and the Regions).
The National Assembly for Wales sets the rating multiplier every
year and it cannot by law rise by more than the increase in the
Retail Prices Index (except in the year of a rating revaluation
which takes place every five years).
The rating multiplier for 2008/09 is 46.6p. For 2007/08 it was
44.8p.
From 1st April 2007, most businesses with a rateable value of
£5,000 have their rates bill automatically reduced under the Small
Business Rate Relief Scheme.
There are also other reductions to rates bills available. For
more information on all types of reductions, see Reductions to rates bills.
From 1st April, 2008, most empty properties with a
rateable value of £2,200 and above have to pay full rates after an
initial 3 month (6 month for industrial properties) rate-free
period.