What Are Business Rates?
Business rates or, non-domestic rates, as they are sometimes known, are the way local businesses contribute to the cost of services which Harrogate Borough Council provide.
The rates are set by the government and collected by the council on their behalf. This income is then paid into a central pool administered by the government and redistributed between all authorities in the form of a grant. How much the council receives depends upon how many people live in the borough.
The business rates are calculated by multiplying a property's rateable value by the non-domestic multiplier. The multiplier is the rate in the pound, which is set annually by the government. Other than in a revaluation year, the multiplier may not increase by more than the rate of increase in the Retail Price Index.
Business rates charges 2011/12