Business rates
National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR), also known as business rates , are the Government's tax on business properties.
Under the Business Rates retention arrangements introduced on 1 April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the Business Rates paid locally. This provides a direct financial incentive for authorities to work with local businesses to create a favourable local environment for growth, since authorities will benefit from growth in Business Rates revenues.
The money, together with revenue from council tax payers, the revenue support grant provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by London Borough of Bexley and the Greater London Authority.
Rateable value
Apart from properties that are exempt from Business Rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value that is set by the Valuation Officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values, available on the related link on this page, where you can find out more information on the calculation and submit an appeal.
Multiplier
The local authority works out the Business Rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier. There are two multipliers: the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the Small Business non-domestic multiplier. The former is higher to pay for Small Business Rate Relief.
The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year for the whole of England according to formulae set by legislation. Between revaluations the multipliers change each year in line with inflation and to take account of the cost of Small Business Rate Relief.
In the year of revaluation the multipliers are re-based to account for overall changes to total rateable value and to ensure that the revaluation does not raise extra money for the Government.
For this year, the standard non-domestic rating multiplier has been set at 0.471 pence in the pound and the small Business non-domestic multiplier has been set at 0.462 pence in the pound.
Online Services
You can now set up a direct debit, make a payment or check your account simply by visiting the related link on this page.
Business Rate supplement
The Business Rate Supplements Act 2009 enables the Greater London Authority (GLA), to levy a supplement on the business rate to support additional projects aimed at economic development of the area. From 1 April 2010 the GLA are levying a BRS to fund the Crossrail transport link. Business Rate Supplements are not applicable to properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or below, however the GLA have decided only properties with a rateable value of £55,001 or more will contribute to the BRS. The GLA has discretion to vary that threshold in successive years. The total maximum BRS which may be levied by the GLA is 2p per pound of rateable value. The GLA has the power to apply such relief's to the BRS as they think appropriate. The policies for the BRS in 2012/13 are the same as those for 2011/12.
The GLA is expected to contribute around £4.1bn of its agreed contribution to the £15.9 billion Crossrail project using income generated from the BRS.
Less than one in five of London's business premises are expected to be liable to pay the Crossrail BRS and some categories of ratepayer such as charities and sports clubs may be entitled to full or partial relief on the BRS contribution.
The GLA expects the Crossrail BRS will run for a period of between 24 and 31 years until its £3.5 billion of borrowing is repaid with a target end date of 2037-38. The GLA will seek to minimise the overall liability but it is estimated that £8.1 billion will need to be collected through the Crossrail BRS over its lifetime once financing costs are included.
The minimum threshold of £55,001 will be reviewed at least every five years having regard to the average movement in rateable values in London following each non domestic rating revaluation. The next review of the threshold is expected to be made in 2015-16 assuming the next revaluation takes place in 2015.
Business Improvement District
A Business Improvement District (BID) has now been created for Bexleyheath town centre, to improve the perception and image of the town, improve accessibility and transport, and ensure it is clean, attractive, safe and secure. A business levy is collected by the Council and paid to the Bexleyheath Business Partnership to fund the BID.
To find out more about the BID, and how your business can get involved, please contact the Bexleyheath Town Centre Manager. Contact details and further information can be found in related contacts.
FAQs
Please see our answers to the most commonly asked questions about non-domestic business rates. These can be viewed by following the webpage link provided in the left hand menu.
