Snails help avoid business rates

It seems that if you own property you can place breeding snails in boxes and claim that the property is "agricultural" in nature. As a result you can then avoid paying business rates, so it seems. 

 

Whilst Bradford City Council are aware of the practice they have been unable to challenge it successfully. As a consequence landlords have been able to claim exemptions from business rates which would otherwise be due when a property has been left unoccupied. 

 

The country faces a £450 million increase in business rates this year and councils are increasingly looking to crack down on non-payment of rates. Searately it seems that almost one in six English businesses have been summoned to appear before magistrates in the past 12 months.

 

Bradford council's assistant director of revenue and benefits, Mr Martin Stubbs, said: "Empty business premises attract a business rates charge. Some landlords, some owners, have come up with creative ways to avoid paying some sizeable sums of money."

 

He further commented that, "Some of them have taken to bringing snails into their premises and tell us they are snail farms."

 

Additionally he said that, "under business rates legislation any premises used as an agricultural property is exempt from rates. It's a box with some snails in it, it's as simple as that I'm afraid, nothing more elaborate."

 

Mr Stubbs stated, "We do challenge those cases but at the moment not very successfully."

 

By comparison, whilst Bradford had failed to challenge the practice against a handful of retail properties, Kirklees Council was awarded £16,000 following a successful prosecution in a "snail farm" matter.

 

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PM Law 

Sheffield Solicitors