Business rates - what it means to you

The budget announcement yesterday on rates relief – that shops, restaurants, pubs, and a range of other venues and spaces will not pay business rates in the year from April 6th - will be welcomed by BID levy payers that will benefit from the initiative.

Q: I am eligible for rates relief - will I still have to pay my BID levy?

A: YES. Your BID levy is calculated using rateable value and liability terms set out by the BID. The only other link between rates and the BID levy is that the levy is collected by the local authority. At this point, the relationship ends.

Once collected, the levy revenue comes directly to us at the BID, to spend on local priorities which are identified by levy payers as important (and therefore detailed in our business plan).

Business rates, on the other hand, are not all retained by the local authority - usually 50% of the revenue goes to central government.

Luton BID, in line with hundreds of other BIDs around the UK, was established to raise sustainable revenue and to use this to fund targeted improvements in the trading environment that are often not supported by local authority or national government funding.

We will continue to work for the benefit of the local area and our levy payers, making best use of our BID levy funding.

If you have queries about your business rates or paying your levy please direct them to the Luton Borough Council Business Rates Team on 0300 7900349.

Please see Luton BID's Business Plan by clicking HERE.