Autumn Statement 2023: Effect on Business Rates
On 22nd November 2023 the Government announced several steps to help ratepayers.
All of the below are effective from 1st April 2024:
1. The Small Business Rate Multiplier will be frozen for another year to protect businesses from inflation. This means the multiplier will remain at £0.499p for Small Businesses who qualify with a rateable value below £51,000.
2. The Standard Multiplier will be uprated using the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 6.7% rather than the September Retail Price Index (RPI) (8.9%) increasing the multiplier from £0.512p to £0.546p
3. The Retail Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Scheme will be extended for a further year and will remain at 75% relief. This will be the same as the 2023/24 scheme and is subject to a cap of £110,000 per business.
Other continuing measures to support ratepayers include the following:
4. Transitional Relief for ratepayers that experienced an increase in their rates bill due to the 1st of April 2023 revaluation. Details can be accessed via the following link: Transitional Relief – London Borough of Harrow
5. The Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme for ratepayers that experienced a reduced entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief due to the revaluation, will continue where eligible, for year 2, capping the bill increase to £50.00 a month (600 per year)
It is currently anticipated that all of the above will be automatically calculated and shown in the initial annual bill that you will receive in March 2024. There will be no need to make an application if you are already in receipt of any of the reliefs listed under 3 to 5 above.
Further details on the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme can be found at Business Rates Reliefs and Exemptions.