AN MP has joined forces with council leaders to demand answers about why Monmouthshire has been “unfairly penalised” by business rates rises.

David Davies said the county is facing huge hikes – more than any other local authority area in Wales apart from Conwy – with 65 per cent of businesses set to be affected.

Some rural business owners are being hit with increases in excess of 130 per cent, which they claim puts them under serious threat of closure.

More than 200 Monmouthshire companies will also lose out on small business rates relief after the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) reassessed their rateable value at higher than the £12,000 qualifying limit, described by Mr Davies as a “double whammy”.

He is backing urgent calls by Monmouthshire County Council for a delay in implementing the tariffs, due to come into force next April, following a meeting at County Hall in Usk on Friday.

“Pubs, shops and Post Office branches seem to have been hit particularly hard; businesses that are vitally important to the rural economy in Monmouthshire and make our county such an attractive place to live,” said Mr Davies.

“Unless something is done, we will definitely see cherished family-owned businesses closing down.

“We need to ensure small business rates relief levels are increased and some limit is put on any possible rates rise.

“It is ludicrous to expect pubs, shops and small traders to suddenly have to pay double the amount in rates overnight.”

Mr Davies said he would be asking the Welsh Government to explain why Monmouthshire is shouldering a higher proportion of the rates burden liability when there are “inconsistencies” with other counties in Wales. The Vale of Glamorgan, for example, is experiencing an overall business rates reduction of 10.6 per cent.

“The calculation seems to be somewhat unjust,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nick Ramsay AM has launched an online petition in an attempt to overturn the ‘double-whammy’ that small businesses in Monmouthshire face following the Welsh Government’s decision to increase the business rate multiplier.

He said that the recent business rates revaluation is intended to adjust the rateable value of properties to reflect changes in the property market and redistribute the burden of business rates rather than increase revenue.

The Welsh Government has pledged that across Wales, a revaluation will be revenue-neutral. 

However, as the overall rateable value of properties in Wales is decreasing, the Welsh Government is increasing the multiplier from April 2017. 

Nick Ramsay said, “I am launching an online petition to overturn these unfair hikes in business rates.

“Businesses in Monmouthshire are facing a double whammy of business rate increases from April next year, with increases in rateable values and the Welsh Government’s decision to increase the multiplier – the formula which determines how much businesses pay.

“They’ve increased the multiplier because rateable values have on average fallen across Wales, but as they’ve risen in Monmouthshire, our local firms are going to be hit hard.  This simply isn’t fair.

“I believe the business rate multiplier should be based on local trends, so Monmouthshire firms aren’t plugging the gap for a loss of revenue due to a fall in rateable values in other parts of Wales.

 “I’ve launched an online petition and I hope as many people as possible will fight these rises, which unfairly penalise small businesses in Monmouthshire.”