The Welsh Government is pursuing a range of reforms during the current legislative term which will introduce noticeable changes to Non-Domestic (business) Rates in Wales.
To support its case, it has launched a consultation to seek views on proposals to provide rates’ improvement relief in Wales.
On 5 April 2023, it announced that the UK Government’s Non-Domestic Rating Bill would be used to bring about certain reforms at the earliest possible opportunity. These include a new improvement relief, which the Welsh Government “proposes to use to support businesses and other ratepayers to invest in making improvements to the non-domestic properties they occupy.”
The Welsh Government states it recognises that many businesses see the NDR system as a disincentive to investing in property improvements, as any resulting increase in a property’s rateable value may lead to a higher bill.
The consultation is seeking views on the Government’s proposal to provide improvement relief, to help address this potential barrier to growth and investment in the tax-base, from 1 April 2024.
It applies to Wales only and the Improvement Relief will initially provide improvement relief up to and including 31 March 2029.
More details can be found here: Consultation on improvement rates relief [HTML] | GOV.WALES including the consultation questions and how to respond.
The deadline for submissions is: August 8, 2023.
Summer consultation launched by Welsh Government on business rate reforms
