Non-domestic rates, or business rates, collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost and running of local services. 

The rates are pooled by central government and redistributed to local authorities as part of the annual formula grant settlement. 

Rateable value

Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of HM Revenue and Customs.  They draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values on their website, see link below.

The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill.  This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. 

The valuation officer may alter the value if circumstances change.  The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. 

Further information about the grounds on which appeals may be made and the process for doing so can be found on the VOA website given above, or from your local valuation office:

Valuation Officer
Non-domestic Rates North West
Valuation Office Agency
72 Church Street
Liverpool
L1 3AY

Email: ratingnorthwest@voa.gsi.gov.uk

Tel: 03000 501 501

National non-domestic rating multiplier

The local authority works out the business rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier.

There are two multipliers, the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier.  The former is higher to pay for small business rate relief. 

The government sets the multipliers for each financial year for the whole of England according to formulae set by legislation.  Between revaluations the multipliers change each year in line with inflation and to take account of the cost of small business rate relief. 

In the year of revaluation the multipliers are rebased to account for overall changes to total rateable value and to ensure that the revaluation does not raise extra money for government.  The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.

Previous years multipliers are listed in the table below.

Revaluation and 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 one ratepayer reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.

Revaluation does not increase the amount of the rates collected nationally, in 2010 over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities reduced though 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, 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 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 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 this bill.

If you require more information please contact the team on 443210 or email Revenues&Benefits@warrington.gov.uk