Rural tax revolt is led by Winston Churchill*
* That’s Winston Churchill the venison dealer from Dunoon
A RURAL revolt over land taxes branded ‘a complete mess’ and ‘devastating to the countryside’ has sparked protests to the Scottish Government.
Among those threatening nonpayment is Winston Churchill – a venison farmer facing a £20,000 bill, which he fears will put him out of business.
In 2014, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to scrap tax exemptions for sporting estates ‘put in place by the Tories in 1994 to protect the interests of major landowners’.
But new tax bills issued this year have not just hit wealthy owners of sprawling estates – they were also sent to ordinary farmers, crofters and other small rural businesses.
‘They’ve caught their big fish but they’ve caught a lot of small fish as well,’ said Mr Churchill, who runs Winston Churchill Venison in Dunoon, Argyll.
‘The target, I believed, were the rich and privileged, who have large estates, are absent landlords and only come up for shoots. But, because it’s business rates, it’s applied to the occupier – not the landowner.’
One former assessor who helped implement the scheme, then quit to help landowners appeal against it, believes 80 per cent of assessments are wrong.
The National Farmers Union in Scotland is now demanding an urgent review, while crofters are furious at what they believe is an attempt to introduce an agricultural tax through the back door.
Mr Churchill believes that the SNP knows the new tax is ‘a mess, but they’re under pressure from the Greens, conservationists and people who want to balance the wealth of big landowners’.
He added: ‘In my humble belief, these sporting rates are wrong and I will not willingly pay them. If the bailiffs come, I will make sure the public knows all about it.’
Patrick Krause, chief executive of the Scottish Crofting Federation, said: ‘Crofters are being issued with demands for payment of rates for sporting rights, though the local authorities should be well aware that the vast majority of crofters do not hold sporting rights. ‘The whole thing is a paper exercise and a complete waste of public resources.’ But Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: ‘The new rates liabilities are fair and sustainable, with many of the smaller shoots benefiting from 100 per cent rates relief under the Small Business
Bonus Scheme.’