How your bill is calculated
All non-domestic properties, mostly businesses, have a
rateable value and this is normally set by the
Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is part of HM Revenue &
Customs. The figure broadly represents the yearly rent the property
could have been let for on the open market on a particular
date.
The rateable value is not the amount you pay in Business Rates,
but it is the basis for the calculation of your Business Rates
bill. Suffolk Coastal calculates your Business Rates bill by
multiplying the rateable value of your property by a multiplier set
by the Government each year, any
rate relief or other adjustments to which you
are entitled to are then applied.
Since 1 April 2005, following the introduction of the
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), two
multipliers have been in effect - the standard National
Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier and the Small Business
Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier. The former is higher to pay for
SBRR.
For 2011/12 the standard multiplier has been
set at 43.3p and the small business multiplier set at 42.6p.
By law the multiplier cannot go up by more than the rate of
inflation, except in a year of a revaluation when it is set at a
level which will keep the total amount raised in Business Rates,
after the revaluation, the same as before plus inflation for that
year.
Follow these links to find out the
multipliers set since 1990 and how to
apply for
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR).
2010 revaluation and transitional arrangements
To maintain fairness in the rating system, the VOA carries out a
revaluation of all rateable values in England and Wales every five
years. The 2010 revaluation came into effect on 1 April
2010 and all properties now have their rateable value assessed
on market rental values at 1 April 2008.
Following a revaluation, special transitional arrangements are
put in place to phase in significant increases or decreases in
rates bills. These set limits on the percentage by which your rates
bill can change each year.
Follow this link for more
information about transitional
arrangements.
Business Rates information leaflet
A Business Rates information leaflet (the wording is prescribed
by the Government) is sent out with annual rate bills in March each
year and to all subsequent new occupiers of non-domestic
property in the Suffolk Coastal area:
Contact us
For more information or enquiries about Business Rates you can
contact Suffolk Coastal’s Business Rates team by:
Telephone: 01394
444544
Email:
businessrates@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
Fax: 01394 444247
Business Rates Team
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Melton Hill
Woodbridge IP12 1AU