In 2005 the Government set up a rate relief system to help small businesses.
Eligible businesses with a rateable value of £6,000 or less can claim a 50% discount on their business rates.
If your business has a rateable value of between £6,001 - £12,000, this discount will decrease on a
sliding scale of roughly 1% for every £120 your rateable value is over £6,000.
The scheme is funded by a supplement to the business rates bill of those businesses which don't qualify for the relief.
Businesses that have a rateable value of between £12,001 and £18,000 may be able to pay their business
rates without this supplement included. This is known as the 'buffer zone'.
Temporary changes to the small business rates relief scheme means the amount of relief you could get is doubled until 30 September 2012.