The upcoming Localism Bill will end the requirement for businesses to fill in an application form to claim the relief. Instead, the Small Business Rate Multiplier will automatically apply to eligible firms and, according to a government statement, ‘councils will be free to administer Small Business Rate Relief in a way that best serves local businesses and local needs'.

Small businesses and local shops will find it easier to get their tax cuts as the Government scraps form filling rules to help increase take up, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has announced. The normal tax discount for small businesses, known as Small Business Rate Relief, has already been doubled this year, but the Government also wants to help as many as possible claim the discounts they are eligible for.

From today over half a million businesses will, for one year, get double their usual Small Business Rate relief as the Government's budget promises to support local enterprise kick in.

The Government's emergency Budget set out plans to rebuild and rebalance local economies so that new businesses and economic opportunities spread across the country. The one-year reprieve from business rate bills will lighten the load for small companies, giving them more freedom to manage their accounts and grow.