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• Ilaulier Peter Finch faces a crippling £22,000 rise in his rates bill under a Government scheme to make all businesses pay the same for local services. He is one of thousands of operators — mostly in the south of England — who have been hit by huge increases following the introduction of the Uniform Business Rate (UBR) last month.
The Government wants all companies to pay the same proportion of their rateable value (the theoretical worth of their property if it were rented). This is regardless of what county or district they live in. The national rate for 1990/91 has been set at 34.8 pence in the pound.
Rateable values have also been changed for the first time since 1973. Although these are set by Government, until now councils could impose their own rate. The national average was 258 pence in the pound. Rateable values have risen by an average of 800%.
Under the new system, which applies in England (different arrangements have been made in Scotland and Wales), at least half of all hauliers will actually have lower rate bills, estimates Roger Evans of the Road Haulage Association's valuation agency Evans & Payne. Those who will benefit will tend to be in areas with highspending Labour authorities, whose rate had been high.
Those worst hit will be operators with large premises (an office, garage and yard are often enough) in parts of the country with Conservative councils, which had probably set a low rate. There the rise in rateable values will more than cancel out any decrease in the rate under the UBR.
However, there will be ceilings on any increase. Rates can only rise by 20% plus inflation each year for businesses with a rateable value of over £10.000. This would apply to properties measuring more than about 35 x 15m. In London, the starting point is £15,000. Smaller firms will only pay a maximum of 15% each year, on top of the cost of living increase.
Hauliers can appeal over their rateable values, but they must do so before the end of September. The number of the nearest Inland Revenue Valuation Office can be found in the telephone directory under V. Local councils can also help. In order to be successful, an owner must convince a valuation officer that his property has been overvalued. To do this, companies should stress bad points about their premises, such as poor access, state of repair or yard space. But it is advisable to enlist a specialist rating surveyor — usually a chartered surveyor — says Evans. His company is linked to the RHA, but others can be contacted through the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (071-222 7000).
Rating surveyors charge for their services, but the cost is more than paid for by any reduction achieved in rates, says Evans. Chances of success are "good", though he will not give a figure. In future, increases in the UBR will be pegged to the retail price index.
Peter Finch's Surrey-based machinery transport firm runs five trucks. He has been told his rates will go up from 28,500 to £31,000 over five years. He owns a half-hectare site in Great Bookham, with a workshop, warehouse and two offices, and says he will have to pass the increase on to customers. He expects to lose business as a result. His main competitors are owner-drivers who, he says, will not face the same burden because of their smaller premises. "I thought the uniform business rate was supposed to help the businessman. Instead, it will cripple a lot of them," he says..
The RHA and hauliers' co-operative Roads are also worried about the effects of the UBR on transport businesses in the South. The UBR will be the "final straw" for many, says Roads' Dave Allen. Alan Gidley of the RHA's South-East office says one or two anxious members have contacted him.
The Government claims the UBR is a fairer way of gathering rates from businesses. Under the old system, some companies faced a poundage more than three times as high as others, and this distorted competition, it says.
0 Evans & Payne 071486 9397.
0 For details write to the Department of the Environment, FLT division, Room N6/20, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3EB. Ask for its free booklet The new business rate a brief guide.