Hm Revenue: Business Rates and Supermarket Chains

hm revenue: Several retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Co-op had fought in the courts against the tax rules set by the Valuation Office Agency the arm of HM Revenue and Customs responsible for setting business rates which had claimed that ATMs should be additionally assessed, according to The Guardian. The court verdict means the supermarket chains are in line for a multimillion pound windfall from tax refunds, which the property advisory company Colliers estimates is worth about 500m. The court of appeal ruled on Friday that cash machines located both inside and outside stores should not be liable for additional business rates, which are a form of property tax on businesses collected by the government. The case dates back to a 2013 decision by the government to charge rates on hole-in-the-wall cash machines, which was backdated to 2010. A spokesperson for the Co-op suggested that the victory would help it keep cash machines at its stores, helping people who rely on them as high street banks shut branches up and down the country. Although the refund is small compared to the 1.8bn annual business rates liability for the four biggest supermarket firms Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons it does however come at a time when high street retailers are facing growing pressure from online rivals who pay less in tax. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.