Year in Review: Celebrating a Year of Achievements, Growth, and Giving Back. Above: Jacqueline Hardaway and Mahie Abey receiving Business of the Year at the Uckfield Business Awards. As we approach the close of an incredible year, we are excited...
Business owners who feel that their non-domestic rates bills are unfairly high should seek professional advice without delay. The point was powerfully made by the case of a determined hotel owner who successfully argued that the valuation of his premises for rating purposes should be reduced by more than 70 per cent.
The owner objected after the 15-bedroom hotel was entered into the 2017 rating list at a rateable value of £59,000. A local authority valuation officer took heed of his complaint and reduced that figure, first to £56,000, then to £54,000 and finally to £31,000. The owner, however, remained convinced that the premises had been overvalued and took his case before the Upper Tribunal (UT).
Upholding his challenge and reducing the premises' rateable value to £16,250, the UT employed a valuation method that was primarily based on the level of annual receipts that a reasonably efficient operator of the hotel could fairly be expected to maintain. The UT noted that the case demonstrated what could be achieved by a tenacious and persistent business owner.