Please Click a Question to scroll down to the answers below
Q. How does the rating system work?
A. Rating is a tax on the occupation of property. Each property is assessed for tax on the basis of the ‘rateable value’, which is an estimate of the yearly rent at which your property might reasonably have been let if available at the time of the valuation date.
The latest revaluation takes place with effect from 1 April 2010 with a Valuation Date of 1 April 2008. This rateable value will remain in force until 31 March 2015.
The assessment of your rateable value is made by the Valuation Office Agency whilst the rates payable are collected by your Local Authority (Council).
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Q. How does the rateable value relate to my rates bill?
A.
- The Local Authority will calculate your Rates Bill by multiplying your Rateable Value by a factor known as the Uniform Business Rate. In the rate year 2010/2011 the UBR in England is 41.4p and in Wales the UBR is 40.9p and this will increase in line with inflation on an annual basis.
- The Rates Payable may be different from the above due to Transitional Arrangements or Small Business Rate Relief. The Transitional Relief Scheme is designed to phase in alterations in the rate payers liability between one rating list and another, thus to some extent overcoming large changes in tax liability between one year and the next.
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Q. Can I challenge my rateable value?
A. Ratepayers have the right to challenge their assessments. The valuation of property for rating purposes is complex; it requires an understanding of the principles of property valuation as well as knowledge of statute and case law.
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Q. How does the appeal procedure work and how long will it take?
A. Once received by the Valuation Office, business rate appeals are put into a programme so that rate payers know when their appeals will be settled either through discussions with the Valuation Officer or at a hearing before the Valuation Tribunal. You will be advised of this timetable once it is confirmed by the Valuation Office and this will give a start date and a target date within which discussions will take place. If agreement is not reached by the target date, the matter will then normally be referred to the Valuation Tribunal shortly thereafter. The Valuation Office receives hundreds of thousands of appeals and considerable delays can occur before any appeal is settled. During the course of the 2005 revaluation, typically it has taken at least 6-12 months (and in some cases much longer) before agreement with the Valuation Officer has been reached. Any reduction in rates payable will be backdated.
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Q. Who should I take advice from?
A. There are many organisations offering to advise in connection with rates, including a number of ‘cowboys’. It is only by employing a corporate member of the RICS, ISVA or IRRV that you can be certain that your rating advisor is:
- regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from malpractice
- qualified by examination, practical experience and training acceptable to central and local Government
- required by their rules to hold adequate professional indemnity insurance
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Q. How and when are our fees charged?
A.Aitchison Raffety provide rating advice on a performance related basis. There are no initial charges or deposits. Our fees are directly related to the savings generated, and become payable only once the Local Authority have been notified of the amended rateable value and your rates bill has been recalculated.
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