NI rates system set for major review

The Department of Finance is planning a major review of the rates system in Northern Ireland.

Rates are the property taxes paid by households and businesses.

Some businesses, particularly in the retail sector, complain that the system has become an unfair financial burden.

A Stormont minister would need to be in place to implement any recommendations that emerge from the department's review.

The department last conducted a review of rates in 2016, but the Stormont crisis meant it was never acted on.

The then finance minister, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, proposed a number of changes, including increasing the rates charged on empty commercial properties.

There were also proposals that charity shops and halls of residence for students would have to start paying rates.

It is understood the forthcoming review will take a more fundamental look at the system of local property taxation.

Business rates are currently based on a property's net annual value (NAV).

NAV is an assessment of the annual rental value that the property could reasonably be let for, at a fixed point in time.

The NAV is then multiplied by the "rate in the pound" to produce the annual bill.