Beat the crunch! Are you entitled to business rate discount?

It’s not an easy time for small businesses in Rochdale so the council is urging firms to make sure they’re claiming any business rate discounts that they might be entitled to.

The government’s Small Business Rate Relief scheme has been running for over three years but not all companies that are entitled to it are taking full advantage.

Almost two thousand business rate payers in the town are already benefiting from the scheme and many have had their business rates bill cut by up to 50%.

Councillor Greg Couzens, cabinet member for finance on Rochdale Council, said: “As a local business owner myself I know first-hand how much of a struggle things can be in the current economic climate. Business rates are collected by the council on behalf of central government so we process applications for reductions. We’re really keen to ensure that as many eligible firms take up the discount that they’re entitled to.”

Relief is available to any business which occupies only one business property in England that has a rateable value of less than £15,000:

Businesses with a rateable value of less than £5,000 will get 50% relief.

If a business has a rateable value between £5,000 and £9,999 relief will decrease on a sliding scale of roughly 1% for every £100 in rateable value over £5,000.

There is also a small reduction available for those businesses with a rateable value between £10,000 and £14,999.

Relief claim forms are very simple to complete and do not require any information about the finances of the business. To find out more, call the council on 01706 926170.