The long awaited Valuation Bill is due back shortly from the parliamentary draftsman's office and could be published before Christmas, according to Martin Cullen, the Minister of State, who has been given the job of overhauling the way in which commercial rates are calculated in this country.

"The commercial rates base will be extended, but there will not be an increase in the overall take as a result of the changes. There should be a significant easing in the burden on existing ratepayers", according to Mr Cullen, who is a junior Minister in the Department of Finance.

A whole new range of properties could find themselves subject to commercial rates. These include land over which fibre optic cable has been laid or on which mobile phone masts have been erected. Land covered by wind generators may well attract rates.

ESB generating stations will also be caught in the commercial rates net. Up to now, the ESB has only paid rates on its commercial properties.

"A lot of semi states are becoming commercial companies", according to Mr Cullen. "We are getting into new territory. The Internet is another area that we are examining and we are taking advice on it."

While people who make use of the Net from home would not be affected, people running substantial businesses from their premises based on access to new technology could well be caught.

Farmers have not had to pay rates since the early 1980s. this followed a successful constitutional challenge.

In Mr Cullen's view, many farms, these days, are being operated as streamlined commercial entities and a hard look should be taken to see if in due course such premises should not attract business rates.

The stakes are high. Mr Cullen estimates that the total annual State take from commercial rates is now between £516m and £520m. (The SFA's estimate interestingly is £411m.) Moves to overhaul the country's outdated valuation system, the basis for subsequent rate demands have been long overdue.

"We were very close to a Constitutional action. The whole existing system could have been thrown out."

This is certainly the view of the business community. According to the Small Firms Association, the system used to calculate the rateable valuation of commercial premises is antiquated and unnecessarily complex. This is also the view of business consultant, Dr Con Power and it is shared by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland. The CCI is pressing for every commercial premises including sports clubs with drinks licenses and bed and breakfasts to be covered.

The Valuation Office's aim is to introduce a system of rolling revaluations.

At present, changes in relative property values since the late 1980s have not been taken into account. As a result, owners of premises where growth in capital values have lagged behind the average are losing out.

According to the Minister, the plan is to start revaluing on a region by region basis, picking a group of adjoining local authority areas. There would be no point in trying to revalue the whole country in one go.

A cap of five per cent on the total increase in rates following a revaluation is to be introduced. this is in line with recent statements by the Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey.

The Government would commit itself to a revaluation of every premises in a five to seven year time frame with revaluations being more frequent in areas where relative property values are changing faster.

Many office premises, in particular, could be due for an up valuation. However, the changes in either direction will not be dramatic. Owners will be given a proper chance to influence the rateable valuation reached. The Valuation Office will have to consult the owners before fixing a value. The estimate can then be appealed in the usual way. It is hoped that the flow of appeals to the Valuation Commissioner and the Valuation Tribunal will be reduced.

Business organisations have suggested that a system of self assessment be introduced into the commercial rates area.

It is argued that this would reduce the burden on the Valuation Office. According to Mr Cullen, such a proposal is "interesting", but it is not one that he would envisage introducing straight away.

Officials are less than enthusiastic about the idea although it was the basis for the collection of the now defunct Residential Property Tax.

The view is that a rigorous audit procedure would be required. Moreover, owners or occupiers might not be keen on stumping up for the cost of a survey of their premises. Once the new Bill is passed into law, the rateable valuation decided upon will bear a close relationship to the premises' market rental value and there will be no need for complex mathematical calculation.

Unfortunately, the new legislation will do little to address the fact that industrial and commercial premises alone carry commercial rates and that the rates burden has moved inexorably ahead of inflation.

The Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, has pledged to put the brakes on the inexorable rise in the nationwide commercial rates bill. Between 1990 and 1999, the commercial rate burden jumped by 51 per cent. This compares with an inflation rate for the period of 21 per cent. The highest increase of all was in the town of Kells where the bill doubled. The next highest was in Trim UDC where the burden rose by over 72 per cent. Both towns are in Mr Dempsey's political heartland in Meath.