How the Levy Collection works
In 2005, businesses in the London Bridge area voted to create a Business Improvement District (BID) for the five year period 2006-11. To fund the work of the operational organisation - Team London Bridge - each business within the BID area must pay a compulsory contribution, referred to as the BID levy.
Payment of the BID levy is compulsory for all businesses within the boundary of the London Bridge (BID) area that occupy premises rated at over £10,000 rateable value. Collection of the levy is enforced under the same rules and processes as business rates collection.
Team London Bridge is not responsible for the collection of the levy. Any queries regarding the following should be taken up with Southwark Council directly:
- Levy payment
- Bills or reminder bills
- disputes over liability for properties
- recovery notices
Contact Southwark Council on 020 7525 3168 or 020 7525 3011.
How to work out your levy
Levy is based on the size of property that a business occupies. The levy for 2010/11 will remain at 1.35%. This is also how business rates are worked out:
Levy equation for 07/08: 1.29% of rateable value (NB NOT business rates)
Levy equation for 08/09: 1.33% of rateable value
Levy equation for 09/10: 1.35% of rateable value
Levy equation for 10/11: 1.35% of rateable value
Exemptions
Businesses will get discounts on their levy ONLY if:
- They receive mandatory (80%) relief on their business rates. Businesses will then get 80% off their BID levy. This usually applies to charities and not-for-profit organisations
- They are wholly exempt from paying business rates (i.e. they have 80% mandatory relief, plus Southwark Council have also given them “discretionary” relief of a further 20%). This usually applies to charities and not-for-profit organisations
Empty property relief
Owners are usually liable for unoccupied properties. Under business rates rules, businesses get a 3-month period where they don’t have to pay their rates. HOWEVER a BID levy charge of 50% of the normal liability applies as soon as a property becomes empty (i.e. no 3-month grace period).
The levy bills
- BID regulations state that levy collection should use the same information for billing as the business rates list. Therefore, levy bills will arrive at the same addresses used for business rates bills
- Levy bills are sent out in the first couple of weeks in March, for at least the first half of payment to be made in April
- Many people choose to split their payments into two so that the second half is due in October. HOWEVER they will not receive a repeat original or second bill – only a reminder notice
- BID levy bills arrive seperately to business rates bills
- One levy bill will arrive for each eligible property on the rating list. So a business occupying 3 floors of a building may well get 3 bills
How to pay the levy
Businesses can either pay the BID levy in full, OR split the payment into two – (payments in April and October).
Payment can be made via the following methods:
- By standing order
- By online banking
- By cheque or postal order
When making payment, it is essential that the following details are quoted, for example, on the back of your cheque.
- The BID Collection bank account number (quoted on the bill)
- The BID Collection account sortcode (quoted on the bill)
- The BID payment reference number (s) – numbers beginning and ending in 2, (also quoted on your bill).
This is so that Southwark Council’s cashiers can allocate payments to the correct collection account.
Please note: Businesses frequently pay their BID levy into the usual Council business rates account instead of the unique BID levy account by mistake. Details of this can be found on the bill.
Quite often businesses receive a reminder when they have actually paid – but into the wrong bank account.