Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987
| Year | 1987 |
Abolition of Domestic RatesEtc. (Scotland) Act 1987
1987 CHAPTER 47
An Act to abolish domestic rates in Scotland; to provide as to the finance of local government in Scotland; and for connected purposes.
[15th May 1987]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Abolition of Domestic Rates: Rating and Valuation
1 Abolition of domestic rates.
1. With effect from 1st April 1989 domestic rates shall be abolished.
2 Valuation roll not to include domestic subjects.
(1) Domestic subjects shall not be entered in the valuation roll in respect of the financial year 1989-90 or any subsequent financial year.
(2) Domestic subjects in respect of which there is an entry in the valuation roll immediately before 1st April 1989 shall be deleted from the roll with effect from that date.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, for the purposes of the Valuation Acts ‘domestic subjects’ means—
(a) any lands and heritages consisting of one or more dwelling houses with any garden, yard, garage, outhouse or pertinent belonging to and occupied along with such dwelling house or dwelling houses; and
(b) such class or classes, or such parts of any class or classes, of other lands and heritages as may be prescribed.
(4) There shall be excepted from paragraph (a) of subsection (3) above such class or classes, or such parts of any class or classes, of lands and heritages as may be prescribed.
(5) Where a part of any lands and heritages falls within a class or part of a class prescribed under subsection (3)(b) or (4) above—
(a) the part so affected and the remainder shall be treated for the purposes of the Valuation Acts as separate lands and heritages, and
(b) the part of those lands and heritages which does not constitute domestic subjects shall be entered in the valuation roll accordingly.
(6) Any proprietor, tenant or occupier of any lands and heritages may appeal to the valuation appeal committee for the area in which the lands and heritages are situated against any decision of the assessor—
(a) to alter the valuation roll with effect from 1st April 1989 by deleting those lands and heritages on the ground that they constitute domestic subjects; or
(b) not so to alter the roll.
(7) Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to this Act have effect in relation to the provisions of this Part of this Act.
3 Non-domestic rates.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, each local authority shall, in respect of the financial year 1989-90 and each subsequent financial year, determine, before such date as may be prescribed in relation to each of those years, a non-domestic rate, which shall be levied, in respect of lands and heritages—
(a) which are subjects (other than part residential subjects) in respect of which there is an entry in the valuation roll, according to their rateable value; or
(b) which are part residential subjects, according to that part of their rateable value which is shown in the apportionment note as relating to the non residential use of those subjects,
and for the purposes of this subsection ‘rateable value’ shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of section 7(1) of the 1975 Act (which relates to the levying of rates).
(2) The Secretary of State shall with the consent of the Treasury prescribe, in relation to each local authority, the maximum non-domestic rate which may be determined by that authority in respect of each financial year.
(3) The maximum prescribed under subsection (2) above in relation to each local authority in respect of the financial year 1989-90 shall be calculated in accordance with the formula—
(B-S) X I
where—
(a) B is the base rate;
(b) S is, in the case of
(ii) a district council, zero; and
(c) I is the ratio of the retail prices index for September 1988 to the retail prices index for September 1987.
(4) The maximum prescribed under subsection (2) above in relation to each local authority in respect of the financial year 1990-91 and each subsequential financial year shall be calculated in accordance with the formula—
M X I X R
where—
(a) M is the maximum prescribed under subsection (2) above in respect of the immediately preceding financial year;
(b) I is the ratio of the retail prices index for September of the immediately preceding year to the retail prices index for September 12 months earlier; and
(c) R is, where the financial year in respect of which the maximum non-domestic rate is being prescribed is—
(ii) a year other than a year of revaluation, 1.
(5) For the purposes of this section—
(a) ‘the base rate’ means—
(i) the rate determined by that local authority in respect of the financial year 1988-89 less, in the case of a regional or islands council, such portion of that rate as they have determined to be their public water rate for that year under section 39 of the 1980 Act (which relates to the levying of rates in respect of expenditure on water supply); or
(ii) where, before 1st April 1989, the Secretary of State prescribes a base rate in respect of that authority for the purposes of this section, the amount so prescribed;
(b) ‘retail prices index’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 24(8) of the Finance Act 1980 (which relates to the indexation of income tax thresholds and allowances); and
(c) ‘year of revaluation’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 37(1) of the 1975 Act (which defines terms used in that Act).
(6) Where the calculation required by subsection (3) or (4) above produces a sum which includes a fraction of a tenth of a penny, the Secretary of State shall increase or, as the case may be, reduce the sum to the nearest tenth of a penny.
(7) Before determining a non-domestic rate under this section, a local authority shall, in accordance with such procedure as the Secretary of State may direct—
(a) make available to the persons mentioned in subsection (8) below such information as he may direct; and
(b) consult those persons on that information and on the rate which the local authority propose to determine.
(8) The persons referred to in subsection (7) above are—
(a) persons liable to pay the non-domestic rate; and
(b) bodies appearing to the local authority to be representative of persons so liable.
(9) A direction made under subsection (7) above may be revoked or amended by a further direction so made.
(10) The rates determined by local authorities under subsection (1) above shall be known in the case of—
(a) a regional council, as the non-domestic regional rate;
(b) a district council, as the non-domestic district rate; and
(c) an islands council, as the non-domestic islands rate.
4 Valuation of premises part of which occupied as dwelling house.
(1) Where, by virtue of section 45 of the 1980 Act (which makes provision as to the apportionment of the net annual value of premises occupied partly as a dwelling house) or of section 7(3) of the 1966 Act (which relates to the reduction of rates on premises occupied partly as a dwelling house by reference to the domestic element)—
(a) the net annual value of any premises has been apportioned as between the part occupied as a dwelling house and the remainder; and
(b) the net annual value of each of the parts is shown separately on the valuation roll prior to 1st April 1989.
then, with effect from that date, the part occupied as a dwelling house and the remainder shall each be treated for the purposes of the Valuation Acts as separate lands and heritages.
(2) Where premises are required by subsection (1) above to be treated as separate lands and heritages, the assessor shall, with effect from 1st April 1989, enter in the valuation roll only the part not occupied as a dwelling house, at the value resulting from the apportionment mentioned in that subsection.
5 Statutory and other references to rateable values etc.
(1) Where—
(a) in any deed relating to heritable property executed...
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