CIOT responds to business rate review

Responding to the Treasury’s business rates review consultation, which considered more frequent revaluations, the CIOT considers the following:

• the consultation does not adequately address the interaction of the proposed three-yearly cycle with the transitional adjustment scheme and suggests that the question of whether, and to what extent, the continued existence of transitional relief negates the benefits of enabling more frequent valuations should also be evaluated;
• the burden on business of mandatory reporting property/lease information should be minimised by providing the information through existing reporting requirements (e.g. tax returns);
• it would be helpful to confirm whether commercially sensitive information that would have to be provided to the Valuation Office Agency could be the subject of a freedom of information request;
• it is imperative that the time taken to launch any new online system or software is taken into account in planning implementation;
• further consultation ahead of any legislation to impose the new duties, including consultation on a new compliance regime and ‘soft launches’ of the new requirements with a clear roadmap of stages would be very welcome; and
• the government should draw on the Scottish experience of introducing three-yearly valuations in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020.