FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release Submitted By downing.com
Liverpool, UK (July 2013) – The Federation of Small Businesses has
expressed its outrage that some businesses are now paying more in
rates than in rent.
Rates and rent are two of the major costs faced by all businesses, and
in many cases the two stand opposed to one another; owned property
that stands empty can still be subject to business rates, while rented
office space does not represent so much of a capital investment.
With many small businesses looking to flexi office space as a way of
gaining the workspace they need at an affordable cost, rates have now
become more expensive than rents for many firms – a situation the FSB
says is unacceptable1.(Free-Pr-Online.com)
According to a recent FSB survey, 7% of small businesses – roughly one
in every 14 – now pay more in rates than rent, while 6% more say their
rent and rates cost roughly the same as one another.
FSB national chairman John Allan says: “The current rating system is a
blunt tool for maintaining the government’s income even when everyone
else’s is shrinking. It takes no account of ability to pay, or changes
to economic conditions.”
Although business rates are officially based on rents, they are only
reviewed once every five years – put into context, that represents the
entire period from the first signs of economic turbulence and the
‘credit crunch’ until present day.
Revisions to business rates are also linked to RPI inflation, rather
than CPI inflation, the latter of which is typically the lower rate of
the two.
Coping with business rates
Small businesses and those in rural areas may qualify for business
rates relief, helping to reduce the amount that they have to pay.
For other firms, it’s a case of trying to manage the budget and save
funds from elsewhere if necessary; serviced office space is one way to
do this, and can give you the workspace you need, without you having
to cover the full capital costs of buying business premises of your
own.
1Business rates need radical overhaul, says FSB
Contact:
Downing
5 Myrtle Street, Liverpool
United Kingdom
Zip: L7 7DN
Tel: 0151 707 2666
Email: info@downing.com
Web: http://www.downing.com/