The Solar Trade Association has warned that business rates on commercial rooftop solar installations could rise by between six and eight times from 1 April next year.
The trade body said the potential tax hike was due to the re-evaluation of business rates by the Valuation Office Agency.
This takes place every five to seven years and looks at how assets are valued, the income they generate and how costs have evolved over that period.
According to the STA, the ‘rateable value’ that will come into force for rooftop solar next year bears little relation to the revenue generated by the installations because costs and subsidies have dropped dramatically. It wants the government to intervene.
STA chief executive Paul Barwell said: ‘The [revaluation] system needs to recognise that solar is a unique technology with both costs and revenues having come down over the past five years. This has created a complete misfit with the business rates system that needs to be fixed, or else we will face a prohibitive tax hike.’