Business rates
Business rates (also known as non-domestic rates) are a tax
payable for all occupied and some unoccupied business premises.
Business rates are payable to the Council who collect them on
behalf of the Government. The rates are paid into a central pool
and redistributed to billing authorities and other major
authorities.
Knowsley’s share of re-distributed rate income, together with
income from its council taxpayers, revenue support grant provided
by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the
services provided by the Council.
Knowsley Council is under a duty to protect public funds and to
this end may use the information held or provided by you for the
prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this
information with other bodies for these purposes and also for the
administration and collection of taxes and charges and for
performing other statutory enforcement duties.
Further information about business rates and liability is
available from the Business Link website.
Frequently asked questions
Does Knowsley Council set my business
rates?
No. Business rates are controlled by the
Government, and have been since April 1990.
The amount of business rates you pay are
controlled by two factors: the rateable value of your property and
the rating multiplier (also known as the rate poundage).
Knowsley Council sends your business rate
bills and is responsible for collecting business rates for the
area. Each council has to collect the rates and put them into a
Government-held central pool, which is then redistributed back to
local authorities.
Who decides the rateable value of my
property?
The rateable value of business (non-domestic)
properties is fixed by the Valuation Office Agency. All
non-domestic property is revalued every five years.
Rateable Values are determined by The
Valuation Office Agency, the address is:
Valuation Officer
Non-domestic Rates North West
72 Church Street
Liverpool
L1 3AY
03000 501501. On-line http://www.voa.gov.uk/
Email: ratingnorthwest@voa.gsi.gov.uk
All enquiries regarding valuation should be
directed to the VO.
How is my bill
calculated?
To work out your bill, we start by multiplying
your rateable value by the rating multiplier (please see the
business
rates calculation page for more detail).
In many cases the calculation will result in
the amount of business rates payable. However, for others there may
be additional calculations to go through because of transitional
arrangements and charitable and discretionary relief, rate relief
for sports clubs and rate relief for small businesses (effective
from April 2005).
What are transitional
arrangements?
All rateable values are reassessed every
five years at a general revaluation. The current rating list is
based on the 2010 revaluation. Five-yearly revaluations make sure
each ratepayer pays their fair contribution and no more, by
ensuring that the share of the national rates bill paid by any one
ratepayer reflects changes over time in the value of their property
relative to others. Revaluation does not raise extra money for
Government.
Whilst the 2010 revaluation will not
increase the amount of rates collected nationally, within this
overall picture, over a million properties will see their business
rate liabilities reduced and some ratepayers will see
increases.
For those that would otherwise see
significant increases in their rates liability, the Government has
put in place a £2 billion transitional relief scheme to limit and
phase in changes in rate bills as a result of the 2010 revaluation.
To help pay for the limits on increases in bills, there also have
to be limits on reductions in bills. Under the transition scheme,
limits continue to apply to yearly increases and decreases until
the full amount is due (rateable value times the appropriate
multiplier). The scheme applies only to the bill based on a
property at the time of the revaluation. If there are any changes
to the property after 1st April 2010, transitional arrangements
will not normally apply to the part of a bill that relates to any
increase in rateable value due to those changes. Changes to your
bill as a result of other reasons (such as because of changes to
the amount of small business rate relief) are not covered by the
transitional arrangements.
The transitional arrangements are applied
automatically and are shown on the front of your bill. Further
information about transitional arrangements may be obtained from
website
http://www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk/.
More information on revaluation 2010 can
be found at http://www.voa.gov.uk/.
I own/rent a business property which
is empty. Do I have to pay the full amount of business
rates?
When a property becomes vacant it is exempt from rates for three
months if it remains vacant. A 100% business rate charge will then
apply to most properties that have been empty for three months or
more, or six months or more in the case of industrial and warehouse
property. It is important to note that the three month rate free
period applies to the property only. Therefore, if you purchase an
empty property you will be immediately liable for empty rates if it
has been vacant for more than three months prior to you buying
it.
Are there any exemptions to this charge?
After the initial three or six month rate free period expires,
empty property will be liable for 100% of the basic occupied
business rate unless:-
- It is held by a charity and appears likely to be next used for
charitable purposes.
- It is held by a community amateur sports club and appears to be
next used for the purpose of the club.
- For the financial year 2009/2010 the rateable value of the
property is less than £15,000. Please note that for the financial
year 2010/2011 this threshold will update to £18,000. From 1 April
2011 the rateable value threshold will revert to to its normal
level of £2,600
- The owner is prohibited by law from occupying the
property.
- The owner is prohibited by action taken by the Crown, or any
other local or public authority from occupying the premises.
- The property is included in the schedule of monuments compiled
under s.1 to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act
1979.
- The owner is entitled to possession only in his capacity as the
personal representative of a deceased person.
- Subject to a building preservation notice per Section 58 Town
& Country Planning Act (1971), or in a list under section 54 of
the Act.
Can charities or other similar
organisations get a reduction in the amount they have to
pay?
Charities are entitled to relief from rates on
any business (non-domestic) property which is wholly or mainly used
for charitable purposes.
The council can also give discretionary rate
relief from rates towards all or part of a rate bill for a property
occupied by organisations not established or conducted for
profit.
An empty property that is held by a charity or
community amateur sports club, and appears likely to be next used
for charitable purposes or the purposes of the club, will be exempt
from unoccupied rates.
For detailed information, please see our rate relief page.
Do I have to pay the entire bill at
once?
No. Everyone starts the financial year with
the right to pay by ten monthly instalments; starting in April.
If you don’t pay, your right to pay by
instalments will be cancelled.
Where can I pay?
There are a number of ways to pay your bill.
See
our information on how to pay your business rates.
Where can I get further advice about
my business rates?
If you wish to talk to a member of staff,
please contact the Business Rates Office on 0151 443 4126/4069 or
email business.rates@knowsley.gov.uk