The British Retail Conssortium continues its spirited campaign to reform UK business rates, urging politicians to address the issue in their manifesto commitments.
Commercial Property Advisors (CPA) supports this campaign, and acknowledges that non-domestic rates are unjust, and inappropriate in the internet age.
What is less clear is how our politicians plan to raise the equivalent of business rates (£60 billion annually) , elsewhere.
Until such detail emerges, CPA is sceptical that politicians will do more than tinker around the edges of the system - if only because rates are so easy to collect, and so valuable to the funding of public services.
CPA recommends firms seeking to reduce their overheads to consider appealing their rates bill, a blunt instrument at best, which may well be out of sync with with changes to current physical layout and design.
With a no win no fee service, conducted by experienced professionals, firms are relieved of all worries over form-filling, the correct language of appeals, or the need for surveyors.
Rapidly expanding due to its success rate in winning appeals, yet still small enough to care about keeping its clients informed of all developments in the appeal process, CPA offers more solid hope of controlling overheads than many politicians' pre-election promises.
