The government has been warned that the proposal to postpone the business rates revaluation until 2017 is the “retail equivalent of the poll tax.” In a heated parliamentary debate MPs also questioned whether the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) was “fit for purpose.”
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) recently announced that the revaluation would be delayed to provide stability to businesses. The decision has been heavily criticised by groups representing the retail and property sectors who have warned of the adverse impact it could have on the high street.
The postponement means that businesses will be receiving bills based on 2008 rateable values –when the market was at its peak – until 2017.
Labour MP Simon Danczuk suggests that there may be electoral reasons behind the proposal.
He said; “If next year’s business rates revaluation was to go ahead as planned, new rates would come into force in April 2015, a month away from the General Election.
“They would undoubtedly show increases in business rates in the south east and a significant decrease, to reflect the readjustment in property values, across the north and elsewhere.
“This is not the kind of news the Government want to present to heartland supporters a month away from elections.”
Mr Danczuk also questioned the future of the VOA which, he says, faces a backlog of 241,700 outstanding valuation appeals.
The co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Retail Group, Ann Coffey, made the comparison with the poll tax claiming that the move would “accelerate the demise of the high street.”
The poll tax was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1990 to replace the system of domestic rates. It led to huge increases for many households and resulted in rioting and a campaign of mass non-payment. Thatcher’s reluctance to scrap the unpopular tax was one of the factors leading to her downfall. The poll tax was subsequently replaced by the council tax.
There is growing resentment among many in the business community towards what they see as the unfairness of the current rating regime. Some are now calling for a complete overhaul of the way bills are calculated.
Manchester businessman Mark Rigby says; “What businesses need is a system for business rates which is fair, efficient and transparent – we don’t currently have that.”
