HMRC consultation on digitalising business rates

HMRC has launched its consultation on digitalising business rates (DBR). This is a key part of the government's commitment to modernise and digitalise the business rates system.

The consultation sets out three options to digitalise the rates system (the full details can be found at the link above), and asks a series of questions focussing on the administrative, financial and technological burdens each option would pose: how data collected could be used to better target reliefs and improvements in the rates system; a compliance regime; and how ratings agents would interact with a DBR system.

The BRC will be submitting a principles-led response which will highlight the need to ensure that any DBR system avoids adding burden to businesses and that engaging with digital business rates data collection should be as simple and straightforward as possible.

We aim to circulate a draft response to members for comment the W/C 12 September. If you have any thoughts or views you would like included, please contact Tom McCarthy (tom.mccarthy@brc.org.uk) who is pulling together our response.