The rateable value of the premises is exactly £15k and qualifies for tapered small business rates relief. The council is saying that we are not eligible for the £10k Small Business Grant Fund but we disagree.
The Government's website has criteria:
- was eligible for small business rate relief (including tapered relief) or rural rate relief on 11 March 202
We have sent information to the council and they still say they won't pay. Other councils websites specifically say if your rateable value is £15k exactly you qualify. We put this to our council who said all the others councils are wrong.
Anyone else come across this? How did you resolve? Who should we go to next? Do people agree that we should qualify or we wrong/missing something?
Replies (11)
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Mmm is it Scheme 1 or Scheme 2?
The guidance to local authorities from the government says for Scheme 1:
but then para 16 says:- 11. Under the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) all businesses in England in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rates Relief (RRR) in the business rates system will be eligible for a payment of £10,000 in line with the eligibility criteria as set out in paragraphs 16-23.
Note that this says BETWEEN £12,000 and £15,000! Small Business Grant Fund
16. Hereditaments included in this scheme are those which on the 11 March 2020 were eligible for relief under the business rate Small Business Rate Relief Scheme (including those with a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000 which receive tapered relief)
This is different from Scheme 2 which says:
and 2A (RATEABLE VALUE up to and including £15,000)
This says INCLUDING. 2B (RATEABLE VALUE £15,000.01 – 50,999)
If your client is not in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sector I fear that their LA may in fact be correct.
Okay, seems they have lost out by a whisker then.
Shouldn't they qualify then? If 15,000.01 then I agree that this was for retail, hospitality and leisure only, but the £10,000 grant was for all businesses up to (and presumably including) £15,000
Have you actually read what I've posted above before commenting or not bothered?Shouldn't they qualify then? If 15,000.01 then I agree that this was for retail, hospitality and leisure only, but the £10,000 grant was for all businesses up to (and presumably including) £15,000
You say "and qualifies for tapered small business" however wondering if your client may have confused SBR with SBRR.
That's mixing up the terms I'm afraid, exactly what I thought.
That's the Small Business Multiplier.
That's not Small Business Rate Relief. It's not "tapered small business rates relief".
My initial reaction was they should get it. But having been back to the Guidance plus reading Wanderer's reply, I was convinced that unfortunately they do not qualify.
However, the SBRR legislation actually refers to SBRR applying to rateable values that are not more than £15,000. i.e. £15,000 is eligible for SBRR - it is just that the tapering is 100%. Unfortunately para 17 (b) of the grant guidance kills it stone dead as E will be exactly 1 if the rateable value is £15,000 and it has to be >1.
So I agree they do not qualify.