evidence: Business rates are an annual tax charged on most properties used for non-domestic purposes, such as shops and factories. The term "non-domestic rates" is also used to describe this tax. The money raised from business rates is used to fund services provided by local authorities, in a similar way to council tax. Some properties that pay business rates are not used for commercial purposes such as beach huts and village halls. [...] Some of this variance can be accounted for by differences in the rateable value used in our estimates and the local authorities’ business rates calculations. This is because of differences in how quickly each local authority updates their non-domestic ratings data in their internal systems following revaluation of individual properties, compared with the published Valuation Office Agency data which are updated weekly.