Rates had their origin in the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601, for parishes to levy a poor rate to fund the Poor Law, although parishes often adopted property rates to fund earlier poor law measures. Indeed, the Court of Appeal in 2001 called the rating an "ancient system", suggesting that it had medieval origins. As local government developed, separate rates were collected by parish authorities, borough corporations and county authorities. The County Rates Act 1739 ended the practice of separate rates being levied for individual purposes, such a highway rate and provided for a unified county rate. Rates on residential property were based on the nominal rental value, reassessed periodically in revaluations. By the Rating and Valuation Act 1925, revaluations were supposed to take place every five years but in practice they were frequently delayed or suspended. Revaluations took place in 1928/1929, 1934, 1956, 1963, and 1973. A revaluation due in the early 1980s was scrapped by the Secretary of State for the EnvironmentMichael Heseltine in June 1979, with Heseltine urging householders to tear up the forms already sent out by the Valuation Office. Rates were abolished in England and Wales in 1990 and replaced with the Community Charge, a fixed tax per head that was the same for everyone within a council area, a figure that could differ greatly per local authority. This was soon replaced with the Council Tax, a system based on the estimated market value of property assessed in bands of value, with a discount for people living alone. The Crown Estate Paving Commission still levies rates on residential property within its jurisdiction, in the area around Regent's Park, London, under the provisions of the Crown Estate Paving Act 1851.
Northern Ireland
Domestic rates are the current local government taxation in Northern Ireland. Domestic rates consist of two components, the Regional rate set by the Northern Ireland Assembly and the District rate set by 26 district councils. Rate levels are set annually. The domestic rates are based on the capital value of the residential property on 1 January 2005. Valuation and rating of property is handled by Land and Property Services. Domestic rates are now unique to Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.
Scotland
As in England, the individual domestic rates bill was calculated by multiplying the rateable valuation of a property by the domestic poundage rate set by the local Council. Before the 1995 reform of local government, domestic rates were set by Regional Councils, and prior to the 1975 reorganisation, rates were set by County Councils. The rateable value of domestic properties was recorded in valuation rolls, which provide an important historical source, as they record the name of the head of the household for every home in Scotland on set years; usually at five yearly intervals. All transfers of property ownership in Scotland are recorded in the Register of Sasines or the Scottish Land Registry. Domestic rates were a more stable income source for local government as they are based entirely on property values which provide greater financial certainty to councils - reducing their cost of borrowing. Evasion of domestic rates was also more difficult in Scotland than in England as property ownership in Scotland can be more easily proven as Scots' Law has required public registration for a transfer of property to be effective since 1694, whereas HM Land Registry is incomplete and a compulsory public declaration is a more recent requirement. Council Tax is slightly easier to evade than domestic rates as liability for Council Tax falls on the occupants rather than the property owner - the UK does not have a complete identity register therefore Councils must rely on other forms of identification - such as the electoral roll to identify, locate and pursue Council Tax evaders. Rates were abolished in Scotland in 1989 and replaced with the Community Charge which was in turn replaced by the Council Tax as in England and Wales. Since devolution, there have been attempts to replace Council Tax in Scotland with a Local income tax and a Land Value Tax.
Business rates
Rates on non-residential property are still charged, at a uniform rate set by central government. Rates are collected by local councils, and were, until recently distributed nationally. Each Local Authority now keeps the money they collect meaning that some Local Authorities collect a disproportionate amount when compared to number of residents Rating assessments are made on all non-domestic properties. As well as business, this includes village halls and other non-business occupations. The exception to this is where a hereditament is exempt by virtue of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 which specifies exempt classes. The rateable value should represent the reasonable rental value of the occupation according to the circumstances at the "Material Day" and according to rental values at the "Antecedent Valuation Date".. Later physical changes will have a later Material Day but the Antecedent Valuation Date will still be 1 April 2003 for the currency of the 2005 Rating List. The Rating List is a public document.
Other rates
Taxes raised for other purposes are also called rates in the United Kingdom. A specific example is the drainage rate charged to fund drainage work which protects low-lying areas from flooding. The first Act of Parliament to authorise the collection of drainage rates was the Statute of Sewers, passed by King Henry VIII in 1531, which established a principle of no benefit, no rates. This hampered the work of drainage authorities for four centuries, since the number of people who already received direct benefit from initial, new network works would be nil or very few and unconnected people with non-mobile homes could object to contributing to new schemes, citing the principle. The concept was finally overturned by the Land Drainage Act 1930, which repealed 20 Acts from Henry's Act of 1531 to the Land Drainage Act of 1929, and created Catchment Boards, who were responsible for complete river systems, and could charge drainage rates to people living throughout the catchment. Whereas agricultural land is normally excluded from rating, drainage rates are collected from all occupiers of agricultural land and buildings within a drainage district. This principle was enshrined in the Land Drainage Act 1991.
