Slash taxes to boost economy, say retailers

RETAILERS have demanded Scottish ministers slash taxes to kickstart the economy following the Brexit vote.

The Scottish Retail Consortium, which represents 25,000 workers, called for a ‘bold and ambitious’ budget later this year.

Its top demand is an end to the business rates supplement super-tax, which see firms pay more than anywhere else in the developed world. But it has also asked for help for individuals, so they still have money in their pocket to spend.

The SRC’s ‘Open for Business’ report’ calls on the Scottish Government to scrap the £62.4million ‘large business rate surcharge’ and review planned increases in personal taxation in 2017/18.

David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, called on the SNP to do more to make Scotland a more competitive place to do business.

He said: ‘That’s why we argue now is not the time to raise taxes on the vast majority of working Scots, which would of course impact on their discretionary spending. However, the Scottish Government should go further and look to reduce the burdens on retailers so they are at the very least no more onerous than elsewhere in the UK.’

Recent research by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found Scots pay the highest property taxes – business rates, stamp duty and council tax – in the developed world.

In April, the Scottish Government brought in the large business rate surcharge, despite widespread criticism from business groups. It has also ended the council tax freeze, with local authorities free to increase rates by up to 3 per cent from next April.

And Miss Sturgeon plans to use Holyrood’s new powers to freeze the threshold at which the higher 40p income tax rate kicks in, in a move which will see middle-earners pay £1,500 more tax than the rest of the UK. Business leaders called for an urgent review of companies’ tax burden post-Brexit.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said business rates would be based on values from April last year, before impact of the oil price crash and the EU referendum hit which, if left unchanged, would no longer be relevant.

The Scottish Tories urged the Government to listen to the increasingly desperate pleas of business leaders. Dean Lockhart, the party’s economy spokesman, said: ‘A number of previously successful Scottish high street businesses are now struggling because of this significant increase in their cost base.’

However, the Scottish Government made clear it has no intention of scrapping the unpopular business rate supplement.

Keith Brown, Investment and Infrastructure Secretary, said its small business bonus scheme had saved firms £1billion. He said an external review had now been launched to explore how business rates can better reflect economic conditions and support growth.

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