Business Rates
 

George Osborne announced today that local councils will be able to keep more of the business rates they collect, instead of paying them into a national pool.

Cheers all round from everyone in Hyndburn who believes in localisation...

...until they realise that Hyndburn has benefited massively over the years by getting millions more from the non domestic rates pool than they collect in the borough.

So Hyndburn will be massively worse off.

Its a ruse to reward the more wealthy areas for voting Conservative.

The 'working class' Tory voters in constituencies like Hyndburn are the first victims of a Government that is shifting massively to the right.......

Re: Business Rates
 

Good, i always say yeh get what yeh deserve.

Re: Business Rates
 

What is given by one hand is taken away with the other.
It's always the same with the government.

They give parents more in child care with 1 hand and take it away with the other by reducing family working tax benefits.
This will also cause problems, instead of it being managed by a team of experts who can manage sums of money amounting to millions it's left to local councellors who have not got a clue what day it is let alone how to manage something like this.
I wonder who in local government they expect to be able to actually do this? the paperwork, the invoicing, the collection - local government have not got the staff for it any more as the government forced cuts.

Spiralling down & down........ :(

Re: Business Rates
 

might it not make the council a bit more proactive in getting off their haunches and do something to attract businesses to the area?

If councils can set their own business rates wouldn't a lowering of these rates bring in more businesses and with this maybe even more jobs. Surely that has to be good for the local economy.....or am I missing something.
If I am, no doubt someone will take the time to educate me.
I am only asking because I know very little about how the Business rate setting is done.
Didn't The chancellor say that councils would be allowed to keep all the Business rate that they raised?

Isn't this a bit of a double edged sword? They will have to be more responsible with the money...they cannot blame central government(whatever the colour that government may be) for lack of funds if they haven't managed to raise funds, or have spent the money stupidly.

Re: Business Rates
 

Sounds about right to me Margaret.

Re: Business Rates
 

Thanks for that Lancsdave.
If that is the case then it will certainly show us just what kind of a council we currently have(and I have my suspicions).
It has the potential for helping the local economy...and it is only a potetial until someone gets busy making it productive.

Re: Business Rates
 

Re: Business Rates
 

Business rate bills are already sent out and the money collected by the local council. The change means they will keep the money and not have to pass it on to central government.

Re: Business Rates
 

While that may be true Retlaw, the business rate is a different matter.

It will just show whether our own council is proactive in getting new businesses to come into the borough.
If they can now set lower rates, then surely this must make the borough a more attractive place to site business.

This logically would mean that there would be more jobs available to local people and that has got to have a positive effect on the local economy.......added to that the fact that the council can KEEP this money to improve services, rather than tip it up to Whitehall.

This is definitely going to sort the wheat from the chaff.
If we see improvements then we will know that there is someone(and quite frankly I don't CARE if it is a councillor or someone from the back office.....I just care that SOMEONE has the brains to do something which will regenerate our town) is doing all they can to make the place somewhere that business wants to be.

The council will no longer be able to blame central government for the lack of funds because it will be down to them to see that funds are generated.

Re: Business Rates
 

I assume that a shop property will pay business rate? What happens if the owner keeps the shutters down and uses the shop area as a living area - does that constitute a change of use and does it affect the rateable value of the property?
Now that the council will be responsible for collecting their own funding will they be more efficient in their collection activity?

Re: Business Rates
 

Sorry Barrie HBC and efficiency, should NEVER be in the same sentence, 100 lines.!!

Re: Business Rates
 

Cashy if they want to remain solvent they will have to get their act together because they will no longer have anyone else they can blame.

Re: Business Rates
 

oh they will find someone or something

ye of little faith ;)

i do often wonder that if we had a tory council and a tory government or vice versa how councils would go on with no one above them to blame

Re: Business Rates
 

It wouldn't shock me, if they increased the rate, so the good retailers will finance things.:rolleyes:

Re: Business Rates
 

Wrist slapping deserved:D