Business leaders have called for an overhaul of the business rates allocation system.

The West Yorkshire Business Jury, which is run by Holmfirth firm of accountants and business advisers V&A Bell Brown and made up of business owners and directors from the region, unanimously ruled that business rates should be shared locally and free from central government interference.

Their verdict follows the news that four areas in the UK will collect and keep all of business rates paid by local shops and restaurants as part of a trial announced in the Budget.

Chancellor George Osborne revealed that Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Greater Manchester and Cheshire East will start receiving 100% of business rates paid in their areas from April – with the possibility of this being rolled out throughout the country.

From April, 2013, local authorities started to receive less government grant, but were allowed to keep about half of the business rates collected locally to help improve the local economy, with the remainder going to central government for re-allocation to local authorities through various grants.

In addition, the Treasury has said it would review the business rates system in time for the Budget next year.

“However, the changes could still see businesses paying the same amount.

Amanda Vigar, managing partner of V&A Bell Brown, said: “Local authorities should be allowed to raise and keep 100% of the business rates to improve local services for businesses.

“However, a watchdog with real teeth needs to monitor how the monies are used or misused.

“There are a number of councils around the country that have poor records of managing their finances and local businesses should not have to pay for their mismanagement.”

Business jury member Mike Funnell, of Power Tool Services, said: ““Without a doubt, business rates need to be set and allocated locally and free from central government.

“Local forms of taxation, including business rates from our high street shops and services, need to be spread out locally to improve our infrastructure and roads as well as to help promote shopping centres and making places more accessible and attractive, which will, in turn, continue to benefit our local economies.”

Charles Brook, director at Brook Business Recovery Ltd, said: “In principle, I agree that taxes raised locally should be used to support local services and that should certainly apply to business rates.

“However, I’m not at all convinced that local councillors who are generally drawn from the community are sufficiently accountable to local businesses.

“Our existing system isn’t great, but I’d be very concerned about handing too much fiscal control to local authorities without significant changes to the local political scenery to make those spending the money more accountable to those who pay the taxes, as well as those who receive the most benefit from them.”

Morgan Wilson, of Juice Learning, said the power to set business rates should be devolved to local authorities, while questioning why only the four areas announced in the Budget should benefit.

He said: “Local authorities face a range of different economic challenges, so it would seem to be common sense that devolving decisions on setting the rate and redistributing money wisely is best done by the people that understand the local challenges best – the local authority.

“There does seem to be recognition in the recent budget that there is a strong case for more autonomy for local authorities in Manchester and Cambridge – which begs a question: what makes them different?”

Max Earnshaw, of property agency Earnshaw Kay, said: “It’s a massive topic which impacts heavily on local economies so, in an ideal world, I think that any form of local taxation should be allocated locally, which will continue to benefit our local economies.”