Rates and Grants *UPDATE 26/03/2020, 10:10*
The government has published the below documentation on the grants. More to come from us as we digest.
(Below correct as of 24/03/2020, 15:36)
1. Business rates and cash grants – for the hospitality and retail sector only
The government will introduce a business rates holiday for retail,
hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax
year.
Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019
to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the business rates holiday if:
your business is based
in England your business is in the
retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector
Properties that will benefit from the relief will be
occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:
as shops, restaurants,
cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues for assembly and leisure as hotels, guest &
boarding premises and self-catering accommodation
How to access the scheme
There is no action for you. This will apply to your next
council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue
your bill automatically to exclude the business rate charge. They will do this
as soon as possible.
You can estimate the business rate charge you will no
longer have to pay this year using the business rates
calculator .
Further guidance for local authorities is available in
the expanded
retail discount guidance .
Cash
grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
The Retail
and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality
and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
For
businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will
receive a grant of £10,000.
For
businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,001 and
£51,000, they will receive a grant of £25,000.
Eligibility
You are
eligible for the grant if:
your business is based in England your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or
leisure sector Properties
that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are
wholly or mainly being used:
as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments,
cinemas and live music venues for assembly and leisure as hotels, guest and boarding premises and
self-catering accommodation How to
access the scheme
You do not
need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible
for this grant.
Guidance for
local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any
enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be
directed to the relevant local authority.
Find your local authority .
2. B usiness rates – for nurseries only
The government will
introduce a business rates holiday for nurseries in England for the 2020
to 2021 tax year.
Eligibility
You are
eligible for the business rates holiday if:
your
business is based in England Properties
that will benefit from the relief will be hereditaments:
occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early
Years Foundation Stage How to
access the scheme
There is no
action for you. This will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020.
However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill to exclude the
business rate charge. They will do this as soon as possible.
You can
estimate the business rate charge you will no longer have to pay this year
using the business
rates calculator .
Further
guidance for local authorities is available in the nursery
discount guidance .
3. Business rates – for businesses that are eligible for small business rates relief, or rural rate relief
The government will provide additional Small Business
Grant Scheme funding for local authorities to support small businesses that
already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief
(SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off
grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business
costs.
Eligibility
You are eligible if:
your business is based in England you are a small business and already
receive SBBR and/or RRR you are a business that occupies property
How to access the scheme
You do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if
you are eligible for this grant.
Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants
should be directed to the relevant local authority.
4. Business rates – for other businesses, that do not qualify for relief or are not retail, leisure and hospitality
Cairns
comments:
There is no direct relief currently announced for these
sized premises.