News / Sustainability
Solar panel tax could rise six-fold
Property advisor CBRE Bristol has issued a warning to businesses with solar panel installations following a warning from the Solar Trade Association (STA) that business rates for buildings with rooftop panels could leap six-fold.
Head of Rating at CBRE’s Bristol office, Rohan Short, said: “While unwelcome, this projected increase should not come as a complete surprise given the number of changes in the industry since the last Rating Revaluation in April 2010.
“The cost of rooftop PV installations has dropped dramatically over the last few years and the tariff generation rates from the ‘Feed-in Tariff’ did not fall substantially until January 1, 2016.”
“The main concern is that this would be effectively a retrospective tax applied to existing solar PV generators, and completely changes the economics,” says Jeannie Mayer of Westbury-on-Trym renewable energy company, Ecotricity.
“If you look at a small-to-medium sized business with say a 100kW system on the roof, it is suggested that the rates may increase from £800 a year to £5500 a year – effectively rendering the entire system unviable from a financial perspective.”
Acknowledging the commercial issue, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has pledged to “look very closely” at its potential impacts.
The 2017 Rating Revaluation is due on 1 April 2017 in England and Wales, seven years since business rates were last assessed.
Read more: Sector spotlight: green energy
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