Small businesses ask for property tax relief

Date: 11th September 2008

An organisation that represents the interests of the country's smallest businesses has urged the prime minister to make sure more is done to promote tax reliefs available on commercial property.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that it had written to prime minister Gordon Brown, asking him to try to make sure the small business rate relief Scheme (SBRRS) is automatically applied to all rate bills handed out by town halls.

According to the pressure group, the move came after a survey showed that £48.4 million of rate relief went unclaimed in Essex alone.

The FSB said that many businesses are still unaware that the SBRRS is designed to alleviate the rate bill for thousands of businesses occupying commercial premises.

"Business rate relief is money which small businesses are entitled to claim and presumably provision is made within the government's financial calculations for such claims to be made so this could provide a significant boost for small businesses without affecting … budget calculations," commented John Wright, the FSB's national chairman.

"Additionally, with the dramatic downturn in the commercial property market owners are finding having to pay rates on empty properties a hardship. A modest relief of up to 50 per cent on the rate bill for empty properties would be very helpful."