Insights & News

Some good news (at last) for business rate payers in England

21 January 2019

On 1 November 2018 the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018 (Act) received Royal Assent. The Act will apply to England only. It was introduced in response to the controversial decision of the Supreme Court in Woolway v Mazars in 2015. The title of the Act doesn’t sound exciting but it may save some businesses money by reversing potential increases in their liability to business rates. Before we look at what the Act does, let’s remind ourselves as to why the Government felt compelled to step in and legislate

Sleight of Ha(mmo)nd: Autumn Statement 2016

24 November 2016

I was all ready to write about how the Autumn Statement was an audacious piece of misdirection, using a flashy reduction of corporation tax (to the much-rumoured rate of 15%, or maybe lower) to detract from less welcome announcements.