Small Business Rates
Relief
Provided a completed application form
is received, eligible businesses with rateable values of below
£6,000 will get 50% rate relief on their liability. Applications
must be made within 6 months of the end of the financial year to
which they relate. For the financial year 2010/11 application forms
need to be received by 30th September 2011.
The relief decreases on a sliding
scale of 1% for every £120 of rateable value over £6,000, up to
£11,999. In addition, such businesses will have their bill
calculated using the small business rating multiplier (40.7p per
pound of rateable value for 2010/11).
The relief is available to ratepayers
who occupy:
o only
one business property in England, or
o one
main business property and other additional business properties,
providing the additional properties have individual rateable values
under £2,600 and the combined rateable value of all the properties
is under £18,000. The charge on the additional properties will be
based on the higher business rating multiplier (41.4p per pound of
rateable value for 2010/11).
For 2010/11 applications the
Rateable Value of the property or aggregate Rateable Value if more
than one, must be below the thresholds detailed above for the whole
period to which the application relates. If the Rateable Value, or
aggregate Rateable Value, increases above those levels relief will
cease from the day of the increase.
If you move into a property
after 1 April, providing the other criteria are fulfilled, you will
be entitled to the relief from the date of
occupation.
Unoccupied properties and properties
in receipt of charitable rate relief cannot qualify for small
business rate relief.
If you are granted relief you will be
sent a bill showing the appropriate adjustment.
Eligible businesses with rateable
values of between £12,000 and £18,000 will have their liability
calculated using the small business multiplier providing they have
completed and returned an application form.
The Small Business Rate Relief scheme
will be funded by a supplement on the rate bill of those businesses
not eligible for the relief. This supplement is built into the
higher non-domestic rating multiplier.
You only need to apply for the relief
once between each revaluation of non-domestic properties (which
happens every 5 years).
However, a condition of entitlement to
the relief is that you must notify the Council of certain changes.
These are:-
o
Increases in the rateable value of a property occupied by you which
is not in the Test Valley area. Such changes must be notified in
writing, and
o If you
occupy any other property which is not mentioned in your
application. You must make a fresh application for the
relief.
You must notify the Council of such
changes within 4 weeks of the change occurring. If you fail to
notify the Council of such changes you will no longer be entitled
to the relief.
If you notify the Council after the 4
week period you will lose relief from the day after the change
occurred until the day the notification is received. If the change
of circumstance is such that you are no longer entitled to the
relief it will be ended from the date of the change.
The application form must be
signed by the ratepayer or a person authorised to sign on their
behalf.
This means, where the
ratepayer is:
·
A partnership, partner of that partnership
·
A trust, a trustee of that trust
·
A body corporate, a director of that body, and
·
In any other case, a person duly authorised to sign on behalf of
the ratepayer
NB: in the case of a Limited
Company the application must be signed by a
Director.
Please complete and return
this form to Test Valley Borough Council, Revenues Service, Beech
Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover, Hampshire, SP10
3AJ