A BUSINESS owner being chased for “a few hundred pounds” blasted the move as “ridiculous”.
Bruce Goulborn, proprietor of the Rhyl Coin and Stamp Centre on Sussex Street, said the Valuations Office are threatening to take him to the Court of Appeal over rates arrears.
Mr Goulborn, 59, who has traded in the area for 26 years, said the rates row saga began when he challenged the Valuations Office over an 81 per cent rise in his store’s rateable value.
He said: “Something didn’t seem right, and eventually we were told there had been an error in the 2006 calculations and they should have charged us more from the outset. Instead they hiked it up in one year.
“I took it to the Lands Chamber in appeal, and they took a few months to decide, but we won a reduction. This is ridiculous.”
Despite winning a reduction at tribunal, Mr Goulborn said the authority was still chasing him down for what he described as a negligible amount.
He said: “The other day, I had a letter from solicitors for Revenue and Customs.
They will be appealing to the Court of Appeal. The costs of the appeal will far outweigh any advantage they might get - they only total a few hundred pounds.
“They are public officials and in this time of public expenditure constraints, they do need to be looking after the public purse. If they are granted it the appeal, we will fight our corner.
“We will embarrass them.”
A spokeswoman from the Valuations Office said the rateable value of the Coin and Stamp Centre had been considered at the Upper Tribunal, which agreed with the Valuation Office Agency’s assessment of rateable value, but not with the date of the change.
She said: “We are asking the Court of Appeal to review the dates the tribunal has suggested to ensure they accurately reflect the legislation and the changes in the rental value of the property over time.”