01/12/2010
The Government's pledge to make small business rate relief automatic has been welcomed with open arms by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), reports SmallBusiness.co.uk.
The emergency Budget (announced earlier this year) outlined the plans, claiming that small companies with a rateable value of up to 12,000 can double their usual discount for a year. Businesses with rateable values of 6000 and below will be given 100 percent rate relief. The Government have proposed that the current legal requirement for ratepayers to complete a full application form will be scrapped.
Local Government secretary, Eric Pickles, claimed "We want to see as many small business ratepayers as possible claim their tax cuts, so we'll change the rules so councils can administer the scheme without being caught up in unnecessary Government red tape." in RealBusiness.co.uk.
The Government are proposing to give councils independence and allow them to administer their own small business rate relief, and that all businesses will automatically have bills calculated through a small business multiplier. The national chairman of the FSB, John Walker, said "Steps to help small firms automatically get the relief they are entitled to is welcome news."
"We have long been calling for small business rate relief to be made automatic, and this cash injection will be of great help to many small businesses." he concludes.
Businesses can turn to other forms of relief to further help their finances, such as invoice discounting. This helps businesses to raise funds confidentially, without having to wait for customers to pay their invoices. This is an excellent way to help support a company whilst it grows and develops.
Deborah Bates