Professional AdviceYou are here : In Your Area » Wales » Regional News » Tourism » Rates
CLA make clear demands in ratings review The CLA will be stressing the need to maintain rate relief for small businesses in its evidence to the Welsh Government's independent task and finish group, set up to review business rates. CLA Wales Policy Advisor Sue Evans said the issue was vitally important to rural businesses. It was crucial to retain existing rate reliefs to enable small businesses to survive this very difficult economic period, and also to make adjustments for self catering operators. The difficulties encountered by self catering holiday units arise from changes to the Local Government Finance Act in 2010. A self catering holiday unit in Wales assessed for business (non-domestic) rates and so eligible for relief must be available to let for 140 days and actually let commercially for 70 days in the previous 12 months. She added: "CLA members have reported that the addition of the requirement to actually let every property for at least 70 days means they are being charged council tax on the least profitable holiday units, whereas they would have been eligible for rate relief with business rates. "In one instance, we have members who have three apartments empty through a combination of the recession and water damage. The change in legislation means the Valuation Office has reassessed them and the change is likely to cost them at least £3,000 in the current a year. "They will now have to pay council tax rather than business rates on the units which they were not able to let for 70 days last year. They would have qualified for small business rates relief, but now have to find extra to pay for the units which are producing the least income." Sue Evans added that the irony is that the amendment was made to ensure that second homes were not able to avoid paying. The fact is that it is penalising genuine businesses suffering in the recession. Editor's note: A CLA member affected, Mrs Marita Gray-Parry, of Llanrug, is Welsh speaking and is on 01286 870210. She has been in the self-catering business for nearly fifty years and says the recession is affecting the built heritage of Wales. Mrs Gray-Parry says that losing rate relief will affect her ability to maintain the building, which is a Grade 2 star castellated house, located halfway between Caernarvon and Llanberis. |
Contact Ben Underwood
Have a problem - need advice? Wales Office Unit 8
Join the CLA today
The CLA Game Fair 2012
CLA Events in your area To receive our regular email newsletter containing advice and the latest news affecting the region - contact the office or send your email address and membership number to info.wales@cla.org.uk |
RSS Feeds
- Policy Topics
- Policy Topics
- Site sections
- Specially for members
© 2012 Country Land and Business Association Limited (CLA). All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as expressly permitted by law.
Disclaimer
No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action in reliance on or as a result of the material included in or omitted in this website can be or is accepted by the author(s), the CLA or its officers or trustees or employees or any other persons.
The Advisory Services are made available to members on the basis that members' rights to compensation and the liability (if any) of CLA and its officers and/or its staff advisers, are restricted in the following ways. In the event of any advice given by any CLA staff adviser being given negligently or otherwise being incorrect no liability whatsoever is accepted by the CLA or its officers or by its staff advisers concerned
(a) towards any person who is not the current CLA member to whom the advice was directly given,
(b) to any person in the respect of consequential loss or loss of profits, or
(c) to any person for any sum exceeding £50,000 in respect of any one enquiry (whether made or responded to orally or in writing and whether dealt with at one time or over a period of time).
Any person making use of the Advisory Services accepts such restrictions. Members should refer to appropriate professional advisers in private practice before taking any particular course of action potentially or actually involving any substantial amounts of money.
Please note that whilst the advisers are able to advise on a wide range of subjects relating to land ownership, they cannot act in place of a member's own solicitor, accountant, surveyor and tax specialist by, for example, drafting documents or corresponding on their behalf and may be precluded, by the rules of their own professions, from advising one CLA member against another CLA member in the case of conflict.
Solicitors Indemnity Fund . Solicitors in the CLA Legal Team are not covered by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund in relation to professional negligence in relation to any advice given by them.
Please note that from time to time telephone calls maybe recorded for training purposes.