ScotGov retains poundage rate on domestic rates
THE Scottish Government has announced it will retain the freeze on non-domestic rates for businesses across Scotland.
Announced as part of the Scottish Budget on 4 December, Shona Robison, finance secretary for Scotland, said that the poundage rate for businesses would be frozen for the seventh year in a row.
Plans to invest further into Scotland’s high street businesses were also announced, along with a confirmation that ScotGov would continue to support its Small Business Bonus Scheme.
Robison said: “I will help by freezing the basic property rate at 49.8p for the seventh year in a row. So, thanks to this budget, over 95% of non-domestic properties will pay lower property tax than anywhere else in the UK.”
The basic property rate will now be frozen at 49.8p on poundage for businesses with a rateable value of up to and including £51,000. However, ScotGov has said that both the Intermediate and Higher Property Rates will increase by inflation, to 55.4p and 56.8p respectively.
Non-Domestic Property Rates Poundage Basic Property Rate (Up to and including £51,000 in value) 49.8p Intermediate Property Rate (from £51,001 up to and including £100,000 in value) 55.4p Higher Property Rate (above £100,001 in value) 56.8p
Further to this, the MSP also said that ScotGov would invest £3million towards tackling retail crime, claiming it was time for them to take action to stamp out the ongoing problem of shoplifting.
Both finances and crime have been hot topics for many in retail as of late, with many industry heads calling for support in both these areas in the run up to the Scottish Budget.
In response to the budget announcement, David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, welcomed the action ScotGov has taken on tackling retail crime.
He said: “Retail crime has become a scourge of communities across Scotland and we know that soaring levels of shoplifting is the main factor behind abuse and threats towards shop workers.
“The vital funding promised by the finance secretary is positive and must be used effectively to tackle persistent offenders and organised crime.
“Retailers are already taking action to make shops safer for customers and colleagues; they’ll warmly welcome this further support from the Scottish Government.”
And Lonsdale also welcomed the decision to ditch the planned grocery surtax in its budget stating the “ill-considered measure” would only have “unfairly penalised food and drink shops”.
However, the budget has not been broadly welcomed across the sector as the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) said the Government’s decision to freeze rates instead of reducing them as “another damaging blow”.
Pete Cheema, chief executive at the SGF, said: “We are very disappointed that the Scottish Government has failed to recognise the need to support local retail and small businesses across Scotland.
“Convenience stores provide an essential local service for their communities, and they have a great potential to drive growth across the Scottish Economy. For those reasons, while we welcome the freeze on the basic rate, we are calling on the Finance Secretary to extend the same support on business rates to include retail.
“To match what is being delivered to both retail and hospitality in England, but only to hospitality in Scotland.”
