I’ve been penalised for success
A BUSINESSWOMAN has been forced to sell up after being hit with a £17,000 business rates bill.
For more than a decade The Capercaillie restaurant and guest house in Killin, Perthshire, had not been eligible to pay business rates.
But last year owner Myra Patterson received a bill ‘out of the blue’ for £16,000 after the Scottish Government revaluation of non-domestic rates increased the rateable value of her business by 260 per cent.
Miss Patterson says her business rates bill for this year has risen to £17,000, even though she has been unable to find enough money to pay last year’s demand.
Yesterday she said she had been ‘punished for hard work’ by the revaluation, which was based on her increased turnover rather than on her profits.
Miss Patterson, who bought the business in 2004 and who employs 16 staff, said: ‘This tax has been a killer blow as the biggest cost to my business. I’ve been left with no choice but to put it up for sale. It’s horrendous.
‘The rateable value has gone up 260 per cent to £32,500 based on my turnover, but my profits have remained steady. They don’t take into account your profit margin, just your turnover. I have increased turnover of the business dramatically over 14 years by working 80 to 100-hour weeks. But expenditure has gone up, so profit margins are on a par with previous years. I’ve been penalised for my hard work.
‘It’s not fair – if you increased somebody’s council tax because their wages had gone up there would be an outcry.’
Miss Patterson, 58, said she has appealed the rate and is receiving transitional relief, but fears it will be difficult to sell the business with such a high rateable value.
Scots Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw highlighted Miss Patterson’s plight as he urged an end to ‘crippling’ business rates at First Minister’s Questions last week.
Nicola Sturgeon replied: ‘If we had followed Tory tax suggestions in this year’s Budget we would have £550million less to invest in public services.’