Business rates becoming "more equitable" for Yorkshire companies

COMMERCIAL property tax experts have wholeheartedly welcomed the announcement that Yorkshire businesses could benefit from reduced business rates in the future.

Legislation has now been laid before Parliament confirming that the 2017 “business rating valuation” will go ahead with a fixed valuation date based on rental values on April 1, 2015.

It is widely perceived that this will lower business rates nationally – and begin the process of redressing a historic imbalance that has previously left northern businesses “effectively subsidising” their wealthy counterparts in London and the South East.

Shop keepers are currently paying “over the odds” in taxes because their business rates are still set near the height of the last property boom in 2008.

Commercial property consultancy Dunlop Heywood’s mamaging director and rating director Stuart Hicks said: “This is the announcement we have all been waiting for.

“It will bring a welcome levelling of the playing field between northern and southern businesses that is long overdue.

“Whilst most parts of England have seen some kind of recovery from the recession, the South East has bounced back a lot faster than places like Yorkshire and the North East.

“Rental values that are the basis for the rating list are still subdued across the region and that bodes well with the valuation date fixed for just six months away.

“We would anticipate some significant reductions to be made for many businesses across the region, based on rental values in 2008 at the height of the market, compared to 2015.”

Paul Manning, senior director at GVA in Yorkshire and a rating expert, agreed with this sentiment.

He added: “This news is extremely positive and should be welcomed.

“Yorkshire businesses will benefit from a redistribution of the tax base across both the north and south of the country.

“It will also relieve the pressure on many businesses that have begun to recover from the legacy of the recession.”