The Chancellor has announced a raft of new changes to business rates relief designed to support businesses dealing with hardship and disruption as a result of covid-19. These changes come alongside recent announcements for further support in devolved UK authorities.
Those in England, with retail, hospitality & leisure businesses operating from premises with a rateable value of between £15,000 & £51,000 may now be eligible for a £25,000 grant. This replaces the £3,000 announced in the budget on 11 March 2020.
These grants will be available from 1 April 2020 via your local authority. Guidance for local authorities on the business rates holiday will be published by 20 March 2020 and so before then they will probably not have all of the information you require.
Recently announced changes also include increased business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in central UK and devolved authorities;
- England: All in these sectors will receive 100% retail business rates discount with existing RV threshold removed. Click here for is detailed guidance for England only.
- Wales: All in these sectors with RV between £51,000-£100,000 in Wales will receive 100% discount with new grant funds available for SMEs. There is a £25,000 rant for retail, leisure & hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £12,001-£51,000. There is a £10,000 grant for all businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less. This will administered automatically through the business rates system.
- Scotland: All in these sectors with RV of less than 69,000 will receive a 75% discount
All business rates will be re-billed by the local authorities as soon as possible.