On a recent trip out, I noticed the “petrol station” from a previous era, as shown in the photo. This inspired a period of reflection as to the current state of Rating law as it relates to obsolete premises awaiting their next use, which often involves development of some kind.
Until February 2015, when a property was demolished or stripped out in readiness for redevelopment, no Business Rates would be payable from demolition or strip … Read more
The Chancellor has announced changes to business rates in his 2016 Budget.
Raising the threshold under which small businesses pay no rates from £6,000 to £12,000 will, according to the Government’s figures, increase the number of small businesses who do not pay rates from a third of a million to 600,000. It should be noted that the higher levels do not come into effect until April 2017 by which time the rating revaluation will … Read more
Returning to our recurring theme of disreputable people within the industry, beware of rating advisor who ask for fees before doing any work. The Insolvency Service has ordered two companies into liquidation for taking fees and not actually doing what they promised.
The forthcoming revaluation brings lots of these sort of companies crawling out of the woodwork so rate payers should be very wary of signing anything that asks for money up front or for … Read more
