| London, Friday 1 October, 2004
Business ratepayers in England can today access a brand new website,
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk, which brings together everything they
need to know about business rates, in clear language, in one place.
The site, the product of a partnership between the Valuation Office
Agency (VOA) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM),
means that, for the first time, ratepayers have one essential source
of information.
Traditionally, business ratepayers have had to visit three or
four different web sites to get ‘the whole story’ on
business rates – a time wasting, and often frustrating experience.
mybusinessrates.gov.uk now provides a 'one stop shop' of clear
and open information on how the business rates system works, how
a property is assessed for rating and how bills are calculated.
The site will be regularly updated, ensuring that users are accessing
the most current information.
The site also offers an important facility that enables most ratepayers
to estimate their 2005/06 rates bill, to help with budgeting and
forward planning. Ratepayers can make this calculation by using
their summary valuation – a detailed description of a business
property’s attributes and a breakdown of how its rateable
value is derived - which are also published by the VOA today.
From mybusinessrates.gov.uk, ratepayers will also be able to link
through to the various websites of all the ‘major players’ in
business rates – the VOA and ODPM, the professional bodies,
the Valuation Tribunal Service and the local authorities.
The website has been developed in consultation with ratepayers,
and its content and structure was tested with them throughout.
The result of this is that the site is very simple to use, jargon-free,
with easy-to-navigate sections that are event-driven, like ‘starting
a business’ and ‘working from home’.
The mybusinessrates.gov.uk site is an example of government departments
working together to deliver against customer needs. mybusinessrates.gov.uk
has its own identity, independent of partner sites, but is an official
and credible source of information. Ratepayers need to know that
only the gov.uk domain is official – if it doesn’t
say gov.uk they are not on the official site.
Chief Executive of the VOA, Andrew Hudson said, “mybusinessrates.gov.uk
brings together all the information the ratepayer needs to know
about business rates - it’s a one stop shop. The development
of the site has been totally geared around the needs of the small
independent business holder, who probably does not use a rating
agent or other professional advisor - we want to make sure they
can get the answers they are looking for quickly and easily. Our
goal is for ratepayers themselves to understand better how the
rating system works.”
- Ends -
Notes for Editors:
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk
A CD-ROM version of the website is available from the VOA, for
those who do not have Internet access.
About the Valuation Office Agency
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an Executive Agency of the
Inland Revenue. Its main responsibilities are assessing rateable
values for the purpose of non-domestic rating and valuing domestic
properties for council tax purposes in England and Wales. It
is also involved in establishing capital values for the Inland
Revenue in connection with capital gains tax and inheritance
tax as well as carrying out a range of property related services
for other government departments and public sector bodies. It
has around 5,000 employees and a network of offices throughout
England, Wales and Scotland, which provide a local service.
About the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
ODPM is the central government department responsible for policy
on local government finance, including Business Rates Revaluation.
Media Enquiries, Valuation Office Agency:
Julie Styles
Communications Projects Manager
Tel: 0207 506 1969
Email: julie.styles@voa.gsi.gov.uk
Steve Perkins
Communications Projects Co-ordinator
Tel: 0207 506 1926
Email: steven.perkins@voa.gsi.gov.uk
Media Enquiries, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister:
David Nieberg
Press Officer
Tel: 020 7944 5081
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