SMALL firms in Basingstoke have been hit by an increase in business rates, in one case by almost 150 per cent.

One small business owner who had contacted The Gazette was paying £4,162.40 with a £2,358.94 deduction for small business relief rates.

Overall, this reduced their payment to £1,803.46 – about £180 per month over 10 months.

However, due to a change in the way non-domestic properties are being analysed to pay their rates, this bill has now rocketed.

For the company, their initial bill now stands at £8,038.50 and there has has been an adjustment of £3,580.57.

This leaves the business owners with a bill of £4,457.93 per annum.

Per month, this works out at about £446 over a 10-month period.

This is an increase of nearly 150 per cent compared to the rates paid previously.

The small business owner who did not wish to be named said: “Having been a family business in Basingstoke for over 40 years I have seen a lot.

“The bill has massively increased, I feel let down because the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council have just told me to contact the re-valuation office to appeal.”

The Valuation Office, rather than local authorities, set the rates on non-domestic properties.

Local councils merely collect the charges from businesses on behalf of the Government.

The Government have issued a relief package of £350 million to councils to distribute to these businesses, however it is yet to be distributed to small businesses in Basingstoke.

Executive director of finance and resources at the borough council Kevin Jaquest said: “The council has been consulting with businesses on proposals for the new discretionary transitional business rates relief scheme and cabinet approved the recommended scheme at its meeting on Tuesday, 10 October for implementation this month.

“The scheme reflects the consultation feedback from local businesses and features a single adjustment and re-bill rather than multiple changes and will be automatically applied to eligible small businesses without the need for a separate application.

“The Valuation Office are responsible for assessing rateable values in line with the national scheme and are therefore the agency that businesses need to contact about valuation issues.”