Scottish business rates at their highest in twenty years

David Lonsdale

In response to a written parliamentary question published on the Scottish Parliament website, ministers confirmed that both the headline poundage/tax rate and the large business rates supplement have reached their highest levels since 1999/2000.

Since the turn of this decade the headline business rate has leapt from 40.7 per cent to 49 per cent. For the 22,011 medium-sized and larger commercial premises (5,065 are retailers) liable for the large business rates supplement, the figures over the same period are 41.4 per cent and 51.6 per cent respectively.

Retail accounts for a fifth of business rates. April’s increase in the business rate added a further £13.2 million to retailers’ rates bills in Scotland.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Headway is being made on rates reform, however progress is uneven and the overall burden of business rates is onerous. This is at a time when firms are already grappling with other government-imposed cost rises and with one in every eight shops in our town centres lying vacant. The cumulative burden of tax and regulatory costs has mushroomed over recent years and is accelerating the pace of change within the retail industry, as firms seek to reinvent themselves in the face of profound changes in shopping habits.

“We want to see a medium term plan for lowering the rates burden, coupled with restoration of the level playing field with England on the large firms’ supplement. This would increase retailers’ confidence about investing in new and refurbished shop premises.”