Business rates

Business rates is a way that those who occupy a non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services.

Under the business rates retention arrangements introduced from 1st April 2013, the council keeps a proportion of the business rates paid locally. This provides a direct financial incentive for us to work with local businesses to create an encouraging local environment for growth. The money, together with revenue from council tax payers, revenue support provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by the council across the borough.

Further information about the business rates system is available on the GOV.UK website.

How business rates are set

We work out your business rates bill by multiplying the rateable value (RV) of the property by the appropriate multiplier. There are two multipliers:

1. The standard non-domestic rating multiplier (NDR) (usually higher, to pay for small business rate relief).
2. The small business non-domestic rating multiplier (SBRR).

Both multipliers for a financial year are based on the previous year's multiplier adjusted to reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure for the September prior to the billing year unless a lower multiplier is set by the government.

Rateable value

Apart from exempt properties, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. They draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values. The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. For the revaluation that came into effect on 1 April 2023, this date was set as 1 April 2021.

To check what is included in your assessment visit the valuation office website.

The VOA may alter the value if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong.