Struggling companies fear major rate hikes
Tom Walsh of Tristar Travel and Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce and President Sean Staunton with a copy of the recent rates increase from Fingal County Council.
Wednesday July 22 2009
COUNCILLORS from all parties have expressed concerns about the revaluation of commercial property in Fingal that is seeing some hard-pressed businesses facing higher rates bills in the near future. Cllr Darragh Butler (FF), acknowledged that there were winners and losers in the process with rates falling as well as going up but he said that some businesses he talked to were 'facing real difficulties' with their new valuations. He said that he knew of businesses that face a doubling of their valuations and one who had seen his quadruple.
Cllr Butler asked if there was any scope to delay the new valuations coming into effect with businesses already facing difficult times at the moment.
Cllr Joan Maher (FG) said that neither businesses or the council would benefit from the process and she asked why Fingal had 'acquiesced' to being the second local authority to submit to the process.
Cllr Anne Devitt (FG) questioned why a date in 2005 was being used as a base to calculate the new valuations when the value of retail properties in Swords for example, are down 30 to 40% from that date, she claimed.
She said that choosing the date made no sense and why it was chosen needed to be investigated.
Cllr Ken Farrell (Lab) said the council's rates base would reduce as a result of the new valuations with businesses shutting down.
Cllr Peter Coyle (Lab) and the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Ciaran Byrne (Lab), both expressed 'surprise at the surprise' of councillors on the issue.
Cllr Coyle said the controversy would have been easily predicted and has been 'coming for three years'.
He said the Valuations Office had held a presentation on the issue some time ago, and despite all the councillors being invited, he was the only one who attended. He reminded councillors that there was an appeal process for people who found fault with the new valuations. The issue is to be discussed further by the council's Corporate Policy Group.
- John MANNING
