In the recent case of Prosser v Ricketts [2024] UKUT 264 (LC), the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber (UT) had to decide whether barristers’ chambers rooms should be treated as a collective, single unit for business rates purposes,...more
Following recent court decisions, the options available to an owner of empty business premises to avoid a liability for empty property rates have been reduced.
This matters because no rates are payable for the first...more
The two taxes in England on the occupation of property are non-domestic rating and, for domestic rating, council tax. Pre COVID, business rates yielded £30bn and council tax £36bn annually. Rates are payable on business...more
A tax on failure -
Empty property rates is a tax on failure; the failure of the owner to find either a profitable use for the premises or a tenant to pay a rent. Since March 2020, reliefs have been available to cushion...more