From 1 April 2023, business rate bills will be updated to reflect any changes in property values since the last revaluation in 2017.

In light of this, and the cost of living crisis, in the November 2022 Autumn Statement the government announced a £13.6 billion support package to help with the impact of any changes. Further details are set out below. 

The Council has long called for business rates to be scrapped and replaced with a fairer levy on businesses. In the meantime, to help make sense of what the update means for local business, we have created a summary of the changes and support announced.

Business rates

What’s happening with business rates?

From 1 April 2023, the ‘rateable value’ used to calculate business rates will be updated for the first time since 2017. The rateable value is a property’s estimated value on the open market. 

Depending on the change in value or your premises, your business rates bill could be higher or lower than it would have been without the revaluation. You can find out more about the 2023 business rate revaluation on the Council’s website, including how to see your rateable value, estimate your business rates bill, or challenge your rateable value if you think it is too high.

What support has the government announced?

In the Autumn Statement on 17 November, the Government announced: a £13.6 billion package of targeted support over the next five years to help with business rates costs. This includes the following support:

 

Capped bill increases: Transitional Relief Scheme

• Businesses facing large bill increases following revaluation will see the maximum increases capped.

• These caps will be set at 5%, 15% and 30%, respectively, for small, medium, and large properties in 2023-24, and will be applied before any other relief or supplements. 

Immediate benefit from rate reductions 

• Properties with a reduction in their rateable value will see the full benefit of that reduction in their new business rates bill from April 2023 - there will be no cap on benefits.

 

Freeze on business rate multipliers 

 

• The business rates multipliers (the figure used to multiply your rateable value to calculate your business rate bill) will be frozen in 2023-24 at 49.9p and 51.2p

Extension of business rate relief packages

• There will be an extension of the existing Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure relief scheme to 2023-24 and an increase from 50% to 75% rates relief up to £110,000 per business.

• Increases for the smallest businesses losing eligibility or seeing reductions in Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) will be capped at £600 per year for three years from 1 April 2023.

• From April 2024, there will be a 12 month rate relief from any rate increase due to making qualifying improvements to an occupied property.

 

What help is there with paying business rates?

There are three different types of support available for businesses struggling to pay changing business rates:

• Automaticaly applied relief.

• Relief that you can apply for.

• Relief in the form of exemptions. 

You can find the full list of relief options and apply on the Hackney Council website.

The Council is aware that the impact of the cyber attack undertaken against the London Borough of Hackney led to backdated bills being issued to some businesses. The Business Rate team will work with these businesses to set up sustainable arrangements to pay backdated bills alongside current and forthcoming bills. Any business requiring additional time to pay should contact the team on 020 8356 3466 or request an arrangement via our dedicated rates support webpage.

Other announcements

 Threshold maintenance, Energy Bill review, supporting investment 

• The NIC’s Secondary Threshold for employers is now capped at £9,100 until April 2028 and the VAT registration threshold at £85,000 for two years from April 2024.

• A review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) to determine support for non-domestic energy consumers, excluding public sector organisations, beyond 31 March 2023.

• The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is now capped at £1 million from 1 April 2023.

 

Council Tax

 

• The referendum cap on Council Tax will rise to 3% from April 2023. Plus another 2% for local authorities with social care responsibilities. 

Minimum Wage increase

• The National Living Wage will increase for individuals aged 23 and over by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour from 1 April 2023.

 

You can read the full Autumn Statement here and find Hackney Council business support resources here.