Approximately 8,000 of the most valuable homes in Northern Ireland will soon bear higher rates bills if proposals from Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald are approved. Rates are paid based on property values, and the rateable value of houses is presently capped. The proposal is to lift that ceiling. Presently, there are no houses worth £400,000 at the 2005 evaluation for domestic rates purposes. In other words, large homes in areas like North Down pay the same rates as much more modest detached properties. The highest domestic rates bill in Northern Ireland is currently roughly £4,200.
Archibald wants to elevate the cap fairly proportionately, and although no exact amounts have been agreed with the Executive, pensioner allowances and other measures supporting those on low incomes would remain in place. Domestic properties will also need to be revalued, which was last done in 2006. Although this represents a longer-term proposal requiring no additional funding, there is the possibility of winners and losers in the short-term, with some facing higher bills and others lower, but Archibald claims that this is in place to ensure a fair distribution of rates across the system.
Wednesday’s Westminster budget was also discussed by Archibald, stating that Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to honour his commitment of “no return to austerity.” The Executive is anticipating that Stormont will receive an extra £500m from the government for 2024, and once there is “substantive clarity,” Stormont can undertake a budget reallocation exercise known as a monitoring round. A draft budget for 2025/26 will be published by Archibald before the end of 2024, which will go out for public consultation before being debated and put in place in April 2025
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