IT is important that businesses, both large and small, should pay their share towards the cost of keeping the country running.

A regular reappraisal of rateable values is necessary, therefore.

But the latest revaluation seems to have been handled pretty shambolically.

Why on earth are cash-strapped York Hospital’s business rates set to rise by £500,000 a year, for example? In fact, why are NHS organisations such as hospitals even paying business rates at all? They’re not businesses.

More of a concern to genuine local businesses is the apparent unfairness of many of the proposed changes in rateable value.

Three pubs in Lawrence Street, for example, are seeing their rates increase by different amounts. Elsewhere, York Police Station in Fulford Road is to be whacked with a £45,000 increase - and even an ATM site is to see its rateable value rise from £900 to £2,000.

All of this comes as figures obtained by The Press show almost 500 businesses in the city are already behind on their rates.

Local businessman and independent city councillor Johnny Hayes fears the rates increases could prove the final straw for some.

That’s the very last thing we need. Yes, we need businesses to be contributing to the public purse. But they can hardly do that if they have gone bust.

At least there is an appeals process. We’d hope that any local business which feels its rates have gone up unfairly will lodge an appeal.