All Business rates articles
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NewsLandmark ruling sets rateable value of Exeter museum at £1
The High Court has ruled that a loss-making museum owned by Exeter Council has a rateable value of £1 in a decision that could pave the way for museums across the country to seek reductions in their valuation.
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Insight
GL Hearn forum: making the case for business rates change
Ahead of the General Election, GL Hearn brought together a panel of experts to discuss the key problems with the business rates system and the short- and long-term reforms they would like to see implemented
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Online
BPF welcomes damning select committee report on business rates
The British Property Federation (BPF) has welcomed the Treasury Select Committee’s report on the impact business rates have had on UK business and called for action following the December general election.
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Online
Colliers lambasts Valuation Office Agency’s new business plan
Property consultancy Colliers International has criticised Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) new 2019-2020 business plan, accusing it of concealing how difficult the Check Challenge, Appeal (CCA) system has made it for companies to challenge or check their business rates.
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News
Supreme Court overturns £1 valuation of empty building
The Supreme Court has overturned a decision by the Court of Appeal to set the rateable value of an office building in Blackpool at £1.
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News
VOA tried to rehire senior staff who it encouraged to leave
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) tried to rehire senior members of staff it had encouraged to leave through voluntary redundancies, Property Week can reveal.
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Insight
Retailers need business rates reform
The admission this week by Marks Spencer’s bosses that there will be further store closures , on top of the 100 M S stores already planned to face the axe by 2022, comes as no surprise.
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Professional
Five things to look out for with business rates in 2019
2018 was certainly a tumultuous year as far as business rates was concerned with the impact of the 2017 revaluation hitting home.
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News
Supreme Court rules in favour of electronic notices
The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Westminster City Council’s decision to serve a completion notice via email in a judgement which could impact the future validity of all property notices.
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Insight
Challenge to ATM ruling will hit business ratepayers
The VOA’s decision to petition the Supreme Court for the right to appeal against a court ruling blocking its proposals to introduce additional business rates on ATMs in retail stores is hugely disappointing.
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Online
Potential £496m retailers' rebate delayed by VOA challenge on ATM business rates ruling
The government’s Valuation Office Agency has applied for the right to appeal a court ruling which blocked the agency’s proposal to introduce additional business rates on all ATMs in retail stores.
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Online
Chancellor pledges £1.5bn to 'back High Street'
Chancellor Philip Hammond has launched a £675m ‘Future High Street Fund’ alongside significant business rates relief for small retailers from April 2019.
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Professional
Online sales tax could be a lose-lose for all retailers
The call by Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis for the Chancellor to introduce a 2% levy on goods sold via the internet illustrates the anguish experienced by many high street retailers operating from physical stores.
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News
Revo urges government to act on rates and online tax
A reform of the business rate system and an online retailer tax were both on the agenda at this week’s Conservative Party conference, but Revo’s policy adviser Matthew Ogg said urgent action was required to bring forward these changes.
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Online
SNP pledges £7bn for Scottish building projects
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined plans to invest £7bn in major building projects and create a non-domestic business rates bill as part of the Scottish government’s Programme for Scotland 2018/19.
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Professional
Councils may push for reform to empty property relief after policy
Since 2008, when empty property relief was first introduced, the use of short-term lease arrangements as a form of business rates mitigation has become commonplace. This typically involves tenants taking short-term leases on properties, often on very favourable terms, allowing the landlord or property agent to reduce their business rates ...
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Online
Cable confirms Lib Dems proposals to replace ‘broken business rates’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has called for a new “commercial landowner levy” to replace what he has described as the UK’s “broken business rates system”.
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News
New figures show 86% fall in business rates appeals
The number of appeals started in the 15 months since the 2017 rates revaluation has fallen year-on-year by more than 86% according to the VOA’s newest figures.
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Online
VOA stats show 1.3 % of rating assessments contested last year
The government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has released its annual appeals statistics revealing that only 1.3 % of the 1.85m rateable properties in England have been contested in the past year.
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Professional
Legislation to reverse ‘staircase tax’ doesn’t address all the issues raised by Mazars ruling
Draft bill not only fails to restore the pre-2015 ruling status quo, but ratepayers may also struggle to secure refunds.
