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Spring Budget 2017

In the Spring Budget 2017, the Chancellor announced three measures to ease the burden of the revaluation.

Support for small business

The scheme supporting small businesses relief will help those ratepayers who, as a result of the change in their rateable value at the revaluation, are losing some or all of their small business rate relief and are facing large increases in their bills.

The operational guidance of this scheme is still in development by the government, and it recognises that this will take some time to implement and will require software changes.

Support for pubs

A new relief scheme for pubs that have a rateable value of below £100,000 has been announced. Eligible pubs will receive a £1,000 discount in their rate demand.

The government will be launching a consultation on the operation of the scheme shortly.

A new discretionary relief scheme

The government are consulting on the design of the relief scheme but the principals are:

  • Increases in rates will be capped to the greater of £600 per year or matching the cap used in transitional protection plus inflation.
  • It will only apply to ratepayers who are facing an increase in their rates following revaluation.
  • Barnet Council will update the information regarding these schemes once full details become available.