Business rates is the commonly used name of Non-Domestic
Rates
Rate or rates may refer to:
Finance
* Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government
* Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another
Mathematics and science
* Rate (mathema ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
a tax on occupation of non-domestic property. Rates are a
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
used to fund
local services that dates back to the
Poor Law
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
.
History
The Poor Law introduced in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in 1579 provided for a poor rate to be levied to fund poor relief. The
Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845
The Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 was an Act of Parliament that reformed the Poor Law system of Scotland.
Main provisions
* The creation of a Board of Supervision to regulate the Poor Law system.
* A retention of the parish-based system through Pa ...
modernized the system, and the
Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854 established the foundations of the modern system.
The
Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956 established a system of five-yearly revaluations, undertaken by an Assessor appointed by the local authority.
In 1989, domestic properties were removed from the rating system with the introduction of the
Community Charge
The Community Charge, commonly known as the poll tax, was a system of taxation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in replacement of domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. It pr ...
in Scotland, later to be replaced with
Council Tax
Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge
The Community C ...
.
Scope
The
Local Government Finance Act 1988
The Local Government Finance Act 1988 introduced significant reforms to local taxation in the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland). The old systems of Rates in the United Kingdom, rates were replaced by the Poll tax (Great Britain), Communit ...
amended the existing rating system in Scotland from 1990 at the same time as introducing a new system of business rates in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
from 1990, and the
Local Government Finance Act 1992
The Local Government Finance Act 1992 includes obligations of the occupants or (in the case of vacant properties and houses of multiple occupation) the owners of properties in the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) to pay Council Tax. It r ...
made further changes. While the latter two acts applied to the whole of the United Kingdom, as the Scottish system is based on
Scots law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...
, it remains fundamentally different from the system in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
.
See also
*
Taxation in Scotland
Taxation in Scotland today involves payments that are required to be made to three different levels of government: to the UK government, to the Scottish Government and to local government. Currently 32.4% of taxation collected in Scotland is in th ...
*
Local income tax
Several political parties have advocated a local income tax in Scotland as an alternative to the Council Tax, as part of funding for local authorities. Various proposals were promoted during the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, 2007 general elect ...
*
Business rates in England
Business rates in England, or non-domestic rates, are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property (National Non-Domestic Rates; NNDR). Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was forma ...
*
Taxation in the United Kingdom
Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to at least three different levels of government: central government (HM Revenue & Customs), devolved governments and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income ...
*
Rates
Rate or rates may refer to:
Finance
* Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government
* Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another
Mathematics and science
* Rate (mathema ...
*
Local government in the United Kingdom:Funding
References
External links
Scottish Assessors Association
{{Rates in the United Kingdom
Taxation in Scotland
Local government in Scotland
Property taxes
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
Rates
Rate or rates may refer to:
Finance
* Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government
* Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another
Mathematics and science
* Rate (mathema ...