Who Pays?

Who pays the Essential Edinburgh BID levy? 

Businesses on the valuation roll liable for business rates for properties with a rateable value of £25,000 or over are liable to pay the levy. The levy charged to eligible businesses is 1% of their rateable value as of 23rd May 2008. This was charged from 30 June 2008 and is an annual payment for the term of the BID.

Shopping centre tenants that do not have an entrance directly from a street are levied 0.5% of their rateable value.

All new businesses that enter the valuation roll after the BID ballot are charged the levy in line with the above rules, as from the date of entry into the roll. If businesses occupying properties enter the BID after the 2010 revaluation comes into effect (i.e. new properties, merged or split properties or properties that were nil value on day of ballot), in the interests of fairness, the levy will be based on a non-statutory valuation from the Lothians Assessor as to their written estimate of what the valuation would have been pertaining to the 2005 valuation roll. If there is dispute of this value, the levy will be based on the 2010 roll.

Any hereditaments that are removed from the valuation roll will be refunded their levy back to the date at which they left the roll.

Material changes in circumstance will not have any impact on the levy.

There is no levy relief for charities, public bodies or empty buildings. When a property is vacant according to the City of Edinburgh Council’s business rates department, the proprietor will pay the levy.

There is no VAT paid on the BID levy.

The BID levy will increase in line with the Retail Price Index on 30 June each year.

The BID levy rules cannot be altered during the term of the BID without an alteration ballot.

The BID levy bill is sent to those addresses provided by ratepayers to the Council for the collection of business rates. The Council collect the levy on behalf of Essential Edinburgh as part of their contribution to the BID.