Pubs save on Business Rates
Test Valley Borough Council has written to almost 70 public houses in the borough to confirm their eligibility for a £1,000 Business Rates discount.
The authority is now keen to encourage recipients of the letter to claim their cost-savings by completing and returning the form that was enclosed with the paperwork.
Finance Portfolio Holder, Councillor Peter Giddings, said: “We have written to a number of public houses in the borough and urge them to respond swiftly so that we can amend their Business Rates accounts. The Department for Communities and Local Government has recently set out the parameters that apply to the discount, so we have checked our records and written to those we believe to be eligible. If anyone else believes they are eligible but have not received correspondence, they should contact the Council as soon as possible.”
To be eligible for the relief, pubs should:
- be open to the general public
- allow free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
- allow drinking without requiring food to be consumed
- permit drinks to be purchased at a bar.
The savings come after the Chancellor announced that he would introduce the relief to public houses with a rateable value of up to £100,000 for the 2017/18 financial year. The rateable value of properties is shown on annual business rates bills or via www.gov.uk/correct-your-business-rates.