Scotland business rates frozen for another year | Scottish Grocer & Convenience Retailer

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.”

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.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “With a swathe of new mandated rules in the pipeline or under consideration, and which may lead to more flashpoints in store, the SRC wants tackling crime against retailers to be made a greater priority by the authorities, including in the Scottish Government’s Strategic Police Priorities, as well as greater funding for the police to combat prolific offenders and organised criminal gangs targeting stores.”

While business rates have been frozen for another year, many retailers will still face a struggle of balancing the books here and, once again, have another challenging trading year with little investment back into their stores.

This is something that Pete Cheema, chief executive at the Scottish Grocers’ Federation, had previously called on the Scottish Government to do, to support retailers by cutting down on financial factors such as business rates.

He said: “Many SGF members, and small stores across Scotland, are facing a raft of challenges, alongside increases to National Insurance contributions, higher wage rates, higher inflation, energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis, not to mention a pile on of regulation across a range of product categories.

“Scottish businesses have been operating at an economic disadvantage to our counterparts in England. Sorting out the damaging impact of business rates on economic growth and small business in Scotland is a no brainer.”