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Sunday, 22 November 2009
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Government, citizens and rights
Business Rates Supplement Bill
The purpose of this Bill is to give upper tier local authorities (County Councils, Unitary Authorities and, in London, the Greater London Authority) the power to levy a local supplement on the business rate and retain the proceeds for economic development.
The main elements of the Bill
The main elements of the Bill are:
- creating a new power for upper tier local authorities to levy a local supplement on the business rate and to retain the proceeds for investment in that area
- providing safeguards for business, including: a requirement that proceeds should be spent on economic development; consultation and, in certain circumstances, a ballot of businesses that would be affected; a national upper limit to the levy of 2p per £1 of rateable value; an exemption for all properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or less
- flexibility for authorities to: decide the duration of the supplement; reduce liability for the supplement for properties above the £50,000 threshold; and to decide whether to offset Business Improvement Districts levies against liability for the supplement
Additional links
Draft Legislative Programme
The public consultation on proposals for new laws has ended - the Government will now be considering the responses received
