Doubling of business rate nets Holyrood £62.4m

More than £62 million is expected to have been raised in tax revenue from the Scottish Government’s doubling of the supplement rate applicable to large businesses.

The total of £62.4 million would be four per cent higher than the original forecast made by Holyrood’s finance committee in its report on the Scottish Budget.

In response to a question in parliament, finance secretary Derek Mackay confirmed the expected total extra tax revenue from the doubling of the large business rate supplement.

The move to double the levy has been controversial and in April five of Scotland’s leading industry and sector representative groups combined to voice concern over the rates supplement of 2.6p added to the standard poundage of 48.4p.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “We’ve still to hear a convincing explanation as to why firms are better placed to be stumping up more in rates than firms elsewhere in the UK.”