Dear All,
This is IMPORTANT, and effects all of us.
You may remember back in 2015 we vociferously fought the 400% rent increases in White Lion Square being forced, in our opinion quite unreasonably, by Welwyn and Hatfield Council upon local businesses. Our thanks to Welwyn and Hatfield Times and Three Counties Radio, for their support.
CLICK HERE to see how you are effected
At the time we were keen to point out that this increase was a cynical attempt by the Council to increase business rates on all businesses across Welwyn and Hatfield. As of 2018 the plan is for the Council to receive all business rates, these are no longer shared with Central Government. Needless to say there is a complex, job creating, admin hungry formular, for calculating this.
Well this has now come home to roost.
Here is the latest sample data released this week CLICK HERE To see how YOU WILL BE EFFECTED
Double Click on the Image to enlarge.
There are 2885 businesses in Welwyn and Hatfield with a rateable value. We have all this data and across the whole Country
The column marked 2017 Rateable value will be the RV as of April 2017
The column to the right is the current RV with the right hand column showing the increase as a % of the current value.
The data is ordered from highest increase downwards.
We have excluded the individual business and building numbers.
What you can see is increases from around 200% to 400%.
But it is far worse than that. If your RV is currently less than £6000 small business rate relief means that you pay no Rates at all. Between £6,000 and £15,000 there is a linear increase up to the full rateable value. You then pay based upon the poundage set by the council each year.
Look at the data for Market place Hatfield, these local businesses have in general moved from an RV of around £6000 to one of over £15,000. So their rates will go from nothing to say 42% of £15,000 namely £6,300 pa. That is an extra £500 per month. That is a lot of extra sandwiches every day.
It should also be realised that these businesses probably pay a higher rent because the premises have historically attracted no rates. Welwyn and Hatfield Council; should recognise that it is these businesses that create employment and pay their salaries, and start acting on behalf of the community, not as a millstone round its neck.
But it gets worse!!!
At a time when Theresa May, with a post Brexit opportunity to deliver ” A fairer Deal for Everyone” The bureaucrats at the Valuation Office are busy stitching up smaller businesses.
What is clear from the data across the country is that Larger Businesses are recieving reductions in their RV’s. WHY? because they have access to surveyors who can argue at a Land Tribunal in the High Court, that Rents are significantly down on those in 2005, therefore Rateable Values should be less. The VO knows they would win, so they have increased the assessments on smaller businesses who do not have the ability to defend themselves.
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