Non-Domestic Rates Team
LGF BRS
SE Quarter - 2nd Floor
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
25 October 2017
ndr@communities.gov.uk
Chief Finance Officers of English Billing Authorities
FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE BUSINESS RATES SECTION
Dear Chief Finance Officer
Business Rates Information Letter (6/2017): Rural Rate Relief and Spring Budget
This is the sixth business rates information letter to be issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government this year. Previous letters are available on the internet at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/business-rates-information-letters
or for archived letters:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919132719/http:/www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/businessrates/busratesinformationletters/.
• Rural Rate Relief
• Spring 2017 Budget - Business Rates Relief Schemes
Rural Rate Relief
1. The 2016 Autumn Statement confirmed the doubling of rural rate relief available to eligible businesses from 50% to 100%. The 20th December 2016 BRIL (3/2016) subsequently set out the Government’s intention to amend the relevant primary legislation to require local authorities to grant 100% mandatory rural rate relief.
2. Following the decision not to reintroduce the Local Government Finance Bill, for 2018/19 we expect local authorities to continue to use their local discount powers to grant 100% rural rate relief to eligible ratepayers, as they have done so for 2017/18. Local authorities will be compensated in full for their loss of income as a result of this change. This compensation will be paid by section 31 grant and calculated on the basis of the returns that councils make under the rates retention scheme.
Spring 2017 Budget - Business Rates Relief Schemes
3. On 13 October, the Government published on the gov.uk website a list of local authorities which had begun rebilling on each of the three relief schemes announced at the Spring Budget, at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-schemes-2017-rebilling-progress
4. We will be updating this list regularly. We would be grateful for billing authorities to notify us once rebilling has begun on any of their remaining schemes at: DCLG-SBschemes@communities.gsi.gov.uk.
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