Following our recent exercise to deliver documents to all businesses in Oxford, detailing our proposals for a Business Improvement District (BID), we are keen to make sure that all businesses calculate their potential levy correctly.
We have been very clear in our message that the levy suggested by our proposals will be one per cent of rateable value, not of the business rates that are paid.
Therefore, the true cost of the levy is far lower than many perceive it to be.
The simplest way to check rateable value is to go to the Valuation Office website (www.voa.gov.uk) and to enter the postcode of your business.
To give some examples, businesses in the Covered Market will be paying about £100 per year, businesses in The High £583 per year and businesses in Little Clarendon Street about £327 per year.
The return on this investment is significant, with most BID companies in the UK proving they can deliver on their promises and, in addition, raising considerable match-funding from other sources.
This could be one of the most important decisions that businesses in Oxford city centre make for a long time.
Businesses need to vote, but above all, they need to put their principles aside and to vote with a business head, using the right levy calculations.
OLIVER O'DELL Chief Executive OX1
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