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Rates a sort of property tax in the United Kingdom and some other countries.
In England, they were started as part of the Poor Law. They were agreed in the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601. They were first used to pay for workhouses and later for building roads. They paid for local government. Buildings were given a rateable value based on the rent it could fetch. This meant that people with more valuable buildings paid more. The rateable value was to be calculated again every 5 years, but this was unpopular and often didn't happen. In 1990, Margaret Thatcher tried to replace it with the poll tax. This only lasted 3 years and then there was Council Tax.
People who do not have a water meter are charged for water according to the rateable value of their building. [1]
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Businesses still have to pay rates based on the value of their buildings. The rate is set by central government and is the same for the whole of England. The money is collected by local councils.[2] This means that places where people are richer produce more money.
Charities and community amateur sports clubs only have to pay 20%.[3]
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