2. Mr Tennyson asked the Minister of Finance whether she will commission an independent review of domestic and non-domestic rates relief. (AQO 235/22-27)

The rates system and rate reliefs were subject to public consultation, review, reform and revision in 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019 and, most recently, this year. A number of changes have been implemented as a result of the reviews. More frequent revaluations have been introduced, the back in business and rural ATM schemes have been reintroduced, and new legislation has been made to enable councils to strike different levels for household and business rates.

In addition, the Department previously availed itself of impartial advice garnered from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC), including advice on the targeting of COVID-19 rate support and a comparative study of domestic rates against council tax. In the next few months, the UUEPC will undertake work on business rate poundage differentials across council areas.

I am open to ideas from any quarter about how to realign the existing generous suite of rate supports, including from Members of the Assembly and from the Fiscal Commission. I am not sure that an expensive external review would be the best use of the limited resources that are available to the Executive at this time. I want to use the findings of the most recent consultation to inform further work on how best to align the rates system with the Executive's strategic priorities. It is essential, as part of that process, to grow our tax base to moderate the overall tax burden.

I thank the Minister for her response. She referred to the Department's business rates review consultation in 2019, in which a number of consultees said that they believe that a more holistic review of rate reliefs was needed, and to the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, which advises her Department and made a similar suggestion. To be clear, is the Minister saying that she disagrees with that view?

As I said, I plan to use the consultation responses that were recently submitted to the revenue-raising consultation to inform my analysis and to consider potential reform of the rating system. I welcome views from any quarter on that piece of work, which will inform how we move forward. It is important that we look at how we can best align what we are trying to achieve in our social and economic priorities with our rating system. That is something that I am keen to do.

Will the Minister detail any plans that she has to review the non-domestic rating system?

The system of business rates has, as I have said on a number of occasions, already been subject to public consultation, review and reform over the past couple of decades. I have advised my officials that I want to explore ideas about how we can best align rates support with the strategic priorities of the Executive and to grow the tax base, which is essential, as I have said, to moderating our overall tax burden.

Minister, you said twice that you want to grow the tax base, but you also said that you do not want a fundamental review of the rating system. In simple terms, how should we grow the tax base and from where should we generate additional revenue?

It is important that, when looking at the rating system, we are also looking at the economic vision that the Economy Minister has outlined around supporting businesses to grow and to create jobs and get new businesses into premises and have them contribute to our rating system. That is what we want to be able to do by aligning our social and economic priorities with the limited powers that we have for raising revenue, which are mostly with the rating system.