It’s time for a helping hand, not a cash grab

THE SNP-ordered review of business rates is, in theory, a way of ensuring companies pay their fair share of tax.

But the reality is that new charges being introduced in April are anything but fair.

Entrepreneurs across Scotland warn that crippling rates increases will send some businesses to the wall, while others will have to sack staff and increase costs to customers just to stay afloat.

The wrong-headedness of the plan to hike rates is starkly illustrated by the case of Amazon’s warehouse in Gourock.

The centre – a key part of the online retail giant’s UK operations – will have its business rates cut by £10,000 a year. Meanwhile, dozens of smaller companies in the area will face bills that many simply won’t be able to pay.

As an industry giant, Amazon could easily afford to pay more in rates than it now does. If the revaluation system being used to reset business rates were fit for purpose, it would soon be doing just that. The Scottish Government may talk a good game when it comes to the importance of stimulating our underperforming economy but ministers will do nothing to encourage growth if they allow these business rates rises to go ahead.

What Scottish business needs now is a helping hand from government. Instead, the SNP has its boots on the throats of companies that deserve so much better.

Those business leaders now speaking out about the impact increased charges will have are not the grasping fat-cats of caricature. They are hard-working wealth creators who provide much-needed jobs and, thus, ensure a stream of revenue flows directly into the Treasury.

Time is running out for those companies that will be annihilated by excessive new bills. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon should act now and stop these rates rises before they devastate businesses that are vital to our economy.