Jerry Schurder
InsightChallenge 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.
ProfessionalBudget measures fall well short of the real reforms businesses need
With the dust settling on the Budget, we can reflect on the chancellor’s business rates announcements. I found it surprising to hear the warm plaudits the chancellor received, given how very little he delivered.
ProfessionalRefunds for businesses hit by ‘staircase tax’ are months away
I’ll be honest. I hadn’t expected the government to fully reverse the effects of the UK Supreme Court’s (UKSC) decision in Woolway v Mazars (2015) UKSC 53, which was dubbed ‘the staircase tax’ by the media.
ProfessionalScotland is the template for how business rates should be handled
A year and a half after the government concluded its review of the English business rates system and six months since the 2017 revaluation, one would have expected the media’s unprecedented focus on this opaque tax to have died down. Not a bit of it.
InsightFight these 'punitive and unfair' business rate changes
Many of us will have had the rare but welcome pleasure of receiving a tax refund from HM Revenue & Customs when audits uncover errors in how tax bills were calculated.
ProfessionalCheck, Challenge, Appeal proposal will only add bureaucracy and cost
Reducing the number of appeals against business rate assessments has long been a stated government aim, and the end of October saw the publication of its latest proposals.
ProfessionalGovernment U-turn gives us a chance to call for better revaluation reform
One of the chancellor’s flagship business rates measures in last December’s Autumn Statement was quietly dropped a fortnight ago. T
ProfessionalThe complex rating system rule book needs rewriting
Businesses have until 6 June to respond to the government’s review of business rates administration announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.
ProfessionalCheck and challenge valuation regime before 3 March
Check and challenge valuation regime before 3 March
ProfessionalWhy Osborne’s Autumn Statement must liberate small businesses from rates
Next week’s Autumn Statement presents chancellor George Osborne with an opportunity to demonstrate the seriousness the government places on the cacophony of complaints around the business rates system.
ProfessionalFluctuating business rates need fixing to be fair
In recent weeks the press has reported on claims by some of the country’s leading retailers - including Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King and Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green - that the business rate system is unfit for purpose, as it penalises bricks-and-mortar occupiers.
ProfessionalBusiness rate foolishness is not just for 1 April
New business rates — heralded as the most radical shake-up of local government finance since the nationalisation of rates in 1990 — came into effect on 1 April.
InsightSo why did government really delay?
For a government that claims to be pro-business, it certainly behaves in a most extraordinary way.
ProfessionalFix uniform business rate to mend revaluations system
Barely a week passes without a company citing high business rates as a key reason for its disappointing trading results.
ProfessionalBusiness rates continue to rise and confuse
The new rating year arrives on 1 April, as businesses are struggling not just to meet their increased liabilities, but also simply to keep on top of all the changes to the rating system, both implemented and planned.
ProfessionalGovernment makes heavy weather of ‘simple’ business rates reform
Businesses have another fortnight to respond to the government’s consultation on business rates retention, the system through which local councils will be rewarded for achieving growth
ProfessionalValuation Office Agency’s selective approach will lead to more tribunals, says Jerry Schurder
The Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) approach to the negotiation of appeals against the 2010 revaluation assessments is causing considerable concern
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Businesses are on tenterhooks as government reviews rates system, says Jerry Schurder
By the time you read this article, the Department for Communities and Local Government should have commenced what is being called a “local government resource review”, but is actually a close look at certain aspects of the business rates system
- Professional
Professional Opinion: Jerry Schurder
Costs outweigh the benefits of headline-grabbing rates relief
- Professional
Professional opinion: Jerry Schurder
Government realises reforming rates is trickier than it thought
