Don’t pass the buck on our business rates
Council leaders call on SNP to aid firms at risk of financial ruin
COUNCIL leaders have called on the Scottish Government to ‘stop passing the buck’ on business rates and help the thousands of firms facing financial ruin.
The Scottish Local Government Partnership (SLGP) says thousands of companies may be forced to close because business rates are set to soar in April.
The organisation yesterday urged Finance Secretary Derek Mackay to take responsibility for the ‘crisis’ and offer a transitional relief scheme rather than telling cash-strapped councils to sort out the mess.
Pubs, restaurants, nurseries, shops, hotels and green energy firms are likely to see their business rates increase by up to 620 per cent following the first re-valuation of non-domestic property since 2010.
Although the re-valuation is carried out by and independent assessor, business leaders have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to freeze the changes amid fears that jobs could be lost, prices will rise and some firms may close.
Mr Mackay has instead urged local authorities to provide relief where possible.
The SLGP, which represents Aberdeen, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire councils, said local authorities were struggling after the SNP cut £170million from local government budgets.
Jenny Laing, convener of the SLGP, called for a financial relief package to help ease the impact of business rates, saying the consequences of doing nothing ‘are too terrible to contemplate’.
Miss Laing, who is also the leader of Aberdeen City Council, said: ‘The Scottish Government needs to urgently allocate financial resources for businesses affected by the non-domestic rates crisis.
‘Derek Mackay has already devastated local government this year by implementing savage cuts of £170million, leaving councils patching their finances together by drawing down reserves, raising council tax and implementing job cuts.
‘He also doesn’t seem to have grasped the fact that thousands of businesses face financial ruin because of the rates revaluation.’
With hotels in Scotland facing an average rise of 90 per cent in business rates from April ‘the entire hospitality industry is under threat’, she said. ‘Instead of passing the buck and blaming local government, Mr Mackay needs to wake up to this crisis and find a solution.
‘He should begin by looking at the introduction of a transitional relief scheme which would cushion the blow and give business the breathing space it needs to reconfigure their operations and plan for the future.
‘That would be a start. He is the Finance Secretary. He needs to step up to the plate and give busi- ness the much-needed support it is crying out for. The country is looking to him for answers.’
It came as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) yesterday urged ministers to consider a reform of the business rates appeal system.
The organisation believes changes are required to allow smaller firms to take forward appeals themselves when they cannot afford to employ property experts for advice.
An FSB spokesman said: ‘Different assessors and different institutions can deal with appeals in different ways. The FSB is looking for standardisation.
‘The appeal system can be difficult to navigate if you don’t have professional property advice, and sometimes small business do not
‘We are looking to him for answers ’
have the money to get this. This is while other large private and public large bodies may have property experts on staff and appeal as a matter of course.’
He added: ‘We expect there will be a large number of appeals following the revaluation.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The first step open to all those businesses who are concerned is to contact the assessor and discuss how they worked out the provisional value.
‘Final valuations will be published in March and businesses have until September to appeal.
‘That process is entirely independent and we would encourage firms to take up those opportunities.’