A three year business rates battle has been fought by a chip shop owner who wants reform on his street and across Wales
Endaf Cooke has been battling for change to the tax and called for Welsh Government to match England when it comes to rate relief.
While he wants national reform, at a local level he has been fighting against what he says are unfair and inconsistent valuation rates in his home town of Caernarfon.
Mr Cook, who owns J&C Chippy on Pool Street in Caernarfon, says the business rates are hitting his own takeaway while causing at least seven units in the street to remain empty.
Mr Cooke claims while he pays more than £300 a month in rates a takeaway which is a “stone’s throw” from his site pays nothing due to a lower rateable value and rate relief.
It saw him fight to challenge the figures being paid on the pedestrianised street and he has now received a final decision from the Valuation Office Agency.
This has seen the amount he now has to pay per square metre go from £310 to £290 - cutting the rateable value from £10,250 to around £9,600.
This is despite the rent on the unit being £6,000.
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He says he - like many others on the street - are still at a serious disadvantage compared to other parts of the town.
Mr Cooke said: “All I want is an element of transparency and fairness in the whole system. How can it be that I pay £300 a month in rates while a takeaway that is literally a small stone’s throw away pays nothing.
“This isn’t just about me though, it is about the whole street here and it is about all the other towns where this is happening, it is everywhere.
“It is about Wales in general where businesses are paying more than in England, putting us at a disadvantage to over the border.”
Small firms in England don’t pay any rates on any property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less while in Wales it is £6,000 or less - with a tapered system between £6k and £12K.
Mr Cooke added: “In Pool Street the rents have fallen considerably over recent years but rates are not doing the same. I have spent three years battling this, hitting my head against a brick wall.
“I have provided the evidence showing I pay £6,000 in rent while my rateable value was £10,250. They have now finally agreed to reduce the amount I pay a bit, but you are talking about a few pounds.
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“It is still not fair in comparison with what other takeaways and cafes are paying in other parts of the town, parts like the Maes which are a lot busier than Pool Street.
“If they could bring down the rates then I think this street would be full, that would mean more people employed, more corporation tax, more income tax for the Government.
“The rates make it hard but I can’t give up, you just have to keep going.”
A VOA spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The tax-base in Wales differs from that in England.
“The average rateable value in Wales is around £20,000; in England it is around £32,000. It is right that our rates and reliefs system should reflect these differences.
"This year we have provided an extra £23.6m of support through the high street and retail rates relief scheme to help around 15,000 small and medium-sized retail businesses pay their rates bills in 2019-20.
"This is in addition to the £210m we provide every year to support businesses and other ratepayers with their non-domestic rates bills. These reliefs are available to all eligible ratepayers who meet the criteria and benefit more than three‑quarters of ratepayers in Wales.
“Our permanent Small Business Rates Relief scheme also provides certainty and security for small businesses in Wales. This year the scheme is supporting around 70,000 ratepayers with over £110m of relief. More than half will pay no rates at all.”