Derby incomplete commercial properties not liable for empty rates tax

08 June 2011

Written by Jeni Browne

Commercial mortgage holders in Derby may be pleased to hear that a landmark legal victory has blocked the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) from rating incomplete properties.

It had been trying to reduce the threshold at which new building projects are viewed as complete so it could charge them the 100 per cent tax rate known as empty rates tax, This is Business East Midlands reported.

However, PwC's real estate team successfully challenged the agency and stated that it has always viewed it as essential that a building is ready to be occupied before it can be rated.

"This decision is good news for the regional economy and for the commercial property market in particular," Simon Tivey, head of rating at PwC, told the news source.

He explained that recently, clients have approached his organisation claiming that the VOA had been pressuring them to allow it to assess their incomplete properties so it can hold them liable for empty rates tax.

The VOA's main functions include maintaining business ratings and council tax valuations as well as valuing properties for HM Revenue and Customs.

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