Pay online
Forms
Waste collections
Meetings & agenda
Compliment or complain
Planning Applications
Publications
Clubs & Groups
On 31st July 2009, the Government introduced new Regulations giving ratepayers the opportunity to defer the payment of a proportion of the increase in their 2009/10 Business Rates bill until 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Letters and application forms have been sent to all businesses in Thanet on 31 July 2009. If you want to take advantage of the scheme, we would encourage you to apply early.
The Council plans to start processing applications from 1st September and anticipate that customers instalments will change to show any deferred payment from October 2009 at the earliest. Customers experiencing financial difficulties in the meantime should telephone Revenues on 01843 577557 for advice.
Here is the advice provided in the Communities & Local government leaflet 'Help with Business rates bills. You can also download the leaflet.
You should be able to see the benefit of your lower payments in your next payment or, at the latest, in the next one after that, depending on when you made your application. The amount you can put off paying will not change in both situations.
You will pay back half the amount in 2010/2011 and half in 2011/2012, as well as paying your full bill for those years. Your rates bills in the next two years will include details of the amounts you have put off paying and need to pay, and your payments will be adjusted in line with this.
If you have more than one property in the same council area, you only need to fill in one application form. You will need to give us the address of all the properties you want to claim for. If you have properties in more than one council area, you will need to apply to each council separately.
You will need to pay the amounts you have a duty to pay by law, including the amount you have put off paying. Your local council will send you a revised bill, letting you know how much you should pay.
You do not automatically have the right to put off making any payments if you have already lost the right to pay your bill by instalments. You may still apply to put off making a payment, but it will be up to your local council to decide whether or not to approve this. You may also want to talk to your local council to discuss what other help is available.
If you are struggling to keep up with your payments, you should talk to your local council to discuss what other help is available.
Further details of the full range of support and information available to businesses visit:
www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp or speak to a BusinessLink adviser on 0845 600 9006
From 31 July 2009, you can spread the payment of increases in your 2009/2010 business rates bill over three years.
There are full details of the scheme and how to apply below.
If you want to take advantage of the scheme, please return the attached application form to your local council.
An application form is available from your local council. You can find contacts for your local council on your rates bill or at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm
You can apply at any time until 31 March 2010, as long as you have some of your bill left to pay. But we would encourage you to apply early.
Everyone is able to put off 3 per cent of their whole year’s 2009/2010 business rates bill. So, if your yearly bill is £5,000, you will be able to put off paying £150.
If the property you occupy was receiving transitional relief in 2008/2009, you will also be able to put off paying 60 per cent of that amount. (See note below.)
You will be able to put off paying 3 per cent of your whole 2009/2010 bill, as long as you have that amount left to pay. If you have less than 3 per cent left to pay, you can still put off paying this amount. You will not be able to put off paying anything if you have already paid all of your bill.
The payments you have left to make will be reduced by the amount you are putting off paying for the whole year. For example, if you can put off £100 and you have four payments left to make, each of those payments will be reduced by £25.
No.
If you run a small business, further help may be available to pay your bills, with Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR). This relief supports small businesses who generally occupy only one property. The relief is available at 50 per cent for eligible properties up to £5,000 rateable value and relief decreases at the rate of around 1 per cent per £100 of rateable value up to 0 per cent at £10,000.
In order to qualify for the relief you need to meet the following two criteria:
To apply for SBRR for the first time, ask your local authority for the one-page application form. Further information on SBRR including different levels of SBRR, and other rate reliefs are available at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/static/html/detail-924.html
The Government provides transitional relief to slowly introduce significant increases and decreases in rates which result from a property being revalued. Businesses which face large increases in their rates bills after the 2005 revaluation of business property have benefited from four years of transitional relief to slowly introduce their full rates, which they are paying for the first time in 2009/2010. If you are currently receiving other relief, the amount of the increase in your bill which you will be able to put off paying will be proportionate to the amount of the increase.
Published by the Department for Communities and Local Government © Crown Copyright, 2009
Contact us for further information on the deferral scheme and the Small Business Rates Relief.
Revenues Office
E-mail:
business.rates@thanet.gov.uk
Phone: 01843 577557 (from 9am to 5.30pm)
Fax: 01843 577532
or Visit our offices