The information below shows how we performed in the collection of Business Rates and how we compare with the national average. For more information on the performance of local authorities visit the Audit Commission's Website (external link).
The percentage of Business Rates collected in the year in which it was due:
| Year |
Wigan |
Average for Greater Manchester Authorities |
National Average |
| 1998/99 |
96.0% |
96.8% |
96.7% |
| 1999/00 |
95.2% |
96.5% |
97.2% |
| 2000/01 |
97.1% |
96.8% |
97.4% |
| 2001/02 |
97.4% |
97.2% |
97.9% |
| 2002/03 |
97.4% |
97.4% |
98.2% |
| 2003/04 |
97.7% |
97.6% |
98.3% |
| 2004/05 |
97.6% |
97.6% |
98.3% |
| 2005/06 |
97.2% |
98.0% |
98.4% |
| 2006/07 |
97.6% |
98.1% |
98.7% |
| 2007/08 |
97.7% |
98.5% |
98.8% |
Performance explanations
The slight improvement in our collection of Business Rates at the end of March 2008 is not quite as good as we had hoped for. This is likely to be because small businesses, which are the major sector of the businesses in the borough, are not paying as well as in previous years. This maybe a result of the downturn in the economy and the resulting credit crunch being faced by the boroughs residents who are the main customers of the boroughs businesses.
On the 1 April 2008 the legislation surrounding empty properties changed. This year, empty business properties will be charged full rates, after 3 months for commercial properties and 6 months for industrial properties, and will no longer be exempt. For 2008/2009 we are billing an additional debt of about £4 million as a result of this change in legislation. This represents an equivalent increase in the amount of Business Rates that we have to collect this year, compared to last year, of around 6%.
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