Tories pledge no rates on low value property – Daily Business

Russell Findlay: helping ‘over-taxed’ businesses (pic: DB Media Services)

A plan to permanently cut business rates and remove damaging ‘cliff-edge’ rises lies at the centre of a package of policies that the Scottish Conservatives will unveil today to help businesses.

Leader Russell Findlay, who will attend a CBI roundtable event in Edinburgh, has pledged to restructure the system so that properties valued below £20,000 pay no business rates.

In addition, those valued higher will only be taxed for the value of the property above the £20,000 threshold, and the same principle will apply every time a commercial property moves up to a higher tax band.

Mr Findlay said his party was committed to helping “over-taxed “Scottish businesses thrive, in order to grow the economy and create more jobs.

Its manifesto also includes plans to end extreme business rates hikes by capping the maximum rise that can occur between revaluation cycles. It also proposes Canary Wharf-style enterprise zones to boost economic growth, and changes to the Apprenticeship Levy to make it demand-led.

The party has also announced that it wants to merge the development agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank into a newly-created Growth Scotland agency.

“As the party of business, the Scottish Conservatives are committed to creating a positive environment for firms to thrive – which would create jobs and increase prosperity,” said Mr Findlay ahead of his meeting with the CBI.

“Scottish businesses and workers are being relentlessly hammered by SNP and Labour taxes. My party would fundamentally overhaul Scotland’s business rates system to make them fair and transparent.

“We’d also work with business to cut costly red tape and ensure that apprenticeships are properly funded after being short-changed by the SNP.

“An SNP majority would be a disaster for Scotland’s economy, but voters can stop this nightmare scenario by backing the Scottish Conservatives on their peach ballot paper.”

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