Lisburn has its say on business rates

Lisburn Chamber of Commerce has hosted a workshop for local businesses to share their ideas on improving Northern Ireland’s business rating system.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Oct 2019, 11:22 GMT
(From left) Alan Brontë, Director of Rating Policy Division Department of Finance, Colin McDonald, Lisburn Chamber, Garry MacDonald, Lisburn Chamber President, Evan Morton, Concept Advertising and Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Alan Givan.(From left) Alan Brontë, Director of Rating Policy Division Department of Finance, Colin McDonald, Lisburn Chamber, Garry MacDonald, Lisburn Chamber President, Evan Morton, Concept Advertising and Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Alan Givan.
(From left) Alan Brontë, Director of Rating Policy Division Department of Finance, Colin McDonald, Lisburn Chamber, Garry MacDonald, Lisburn Chamber President, Evan Morton, Concept Advertising and Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Alan Givan.

The event was organised in partnership with the Department of Finance which recently launched a public consultation on business rates as part of a comprehensive review announced in May this year.

Speaking after the event, Alan Bronte, director of rating policy who is leading the Business Rates Review at the Department said: “The Department is committed to listening to the views of businesses and organisations right across Northern Ireland to enable us to understand as many different perspectives as possible.

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“I would encourage all businesses to have their say by formally responding to the consultation so that collectively we can work together to ensure our rating system is effective and fair while raising the funding needed for our public services.

Lisburn Chamber president Garry MacDonald said: “We welcome this review. Business rates are long overdue an overhaul particularly for bricks-and-mortar retailers.

“They have been disproportionately impacted by the increase in rates over time compared with other businesses. Recent data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) in August shows that while retailers account for 5% of the UK economy they pay a quarter of all business rates.”

Each year, Land & Property Services collects over £1.34bn of rates. Business rates in Northern Ireland contributes over £655m to the overall rates income.”

The Business Rates Public Consultation runs until November 11. For information and to respond visit https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/consultations/business-rates

Related topics:LisburnNorthern IrelandThe Department