The campaign organisation Church Action for Tax Justice published two reports entitled Tax for the Common Good and Fair Tax Now, containing proposals on creating a fairer tax system. The House of Lords will debate these reports on 21 January 2021. This article summarises the reports' recommendations, the Government’s current tax policies and the impact of Covid-19 on fiscal policy.
Documents to download
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Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (295 KB, PDF)
The Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill has one substantive clause. It would postpone the next revaluation for business rates in England and Wales by a year to 1 April 2023.
The bill replaces a similar bill the Government introduced in the Lords earlier in the current parliamentary session, the Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) Bill. That bill would have brought the revaluation forward a year to 1 April 2021 from 1 April 2022. However, that bill has not progressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, by delaying the revaluation, the Government has said it aims to help firms affected by the pandemic.
In the UK, all non-domestic properties pay rates known as ‘business rates’ unless subject to an exemption. The administration of such rates is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A property’s business rates bill is determined by multiplying its ‘rateable value’, which is its estimated open market rental value on a set date, by a national ‘multiplier’. In England and Wales, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) sets rateable values independently of government and these appear on non-domestic rating lists. The UK Government sets the national multiplier in England and the Welsh Government does so in Wales. These values are then used to calculate bills.
A process called revaluation regularly takes place to help ensure that rateable values reflect changes in the property market. This sees the rateable values of all business and other non-domestic property in England reviewed by the VOA at specified intervals. Currently, revaluation is scheduled to take place every five years from 1 April 2017 and would therefore next take place on 1 April 2022. The bill would reset the next revaluation to 1 April 2023 to take account of the coronavirus pandemic.
Related Links
Documents to download
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Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (295 KB, PDF)
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