<\/p>\n
Large shops pay a higher rate than those in England and Wales<\/p>\n
Scottish ministers have been accused of imposing \u2018crippling\u2019 costs on shops by refusing to match the rates regime in other parts of the UK.<\/p>\n
From 1 April, shops\u00a0occupying medium sized and larger premises in Scotland are set to pay \u00a354 million more in business rates than their equivalent-sized counterparts south of the border.<\/p>\n
The figure was revealed in response to a written parliamentary question from Tory business and economy spokesperson Murdo Fraser. The gap is similar to previous years.<\/p>\n
Mr Fraser said:\u00a0\u201cThe SNP\u2019s decision not to match the rates regime in other parts of the UK is imposing crippling costs on medium and larger-sized firms and leading to closures and job losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe anti-business policies of Nationalist ministers are putting Scottish firms at a competitive disadvantage and damaging our economic competitiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve already seen the devastating impact of the SNP\u2019s mismanagement and failure to pass on rates relief on our high streets, and [Finance Secretary] Shona Robison\u2019s decision to ignore calls from the retail sector in the Budget will only compound the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2,296 shops in Scotland with a rateable value of \u00a3100,000 or above will be liable for the Higher Property Rate of 54.8p in the \u00a3 from 1 April. Similar sized stores in England will pay 43p in the \u00a3. As it is a slab tax the higher tax rate applies to each pound of a property\u2019s rateable value.<\/p>\n
These 2,296 stores will not be eligible for the Scottish Government\u2019s new Retail Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) sectors\u2019 rates relief.\u00a0Instead they will be liable for a poundage rate which is 27% above the rate in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: \u201cThe decision taken in the Scottish Budget not to match the new rates regime in England will put into sharp focus the difference between trading north and south of the border.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo their credit the Scottish Government has recognised retailers\u2019 pay a disproportionate amount in business rates and the new Retail Hospitality and Leisure sectors rates relief is a positive step forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the convoluted restrictions and cap on eligibility means it won\u2019t benefit all stores and it will be less generous at every level compared to the relief on offer to retailers in England from 1 April.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat relief won\u2019t even apply to medium-sized and larger stores liable for the Higher Property Rate. These shops will pay a business rate substantially above that of similarly-sized counterparts down south.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs it stands\u00a0Scotland risks becoming a materially more expensive place to operate shops and this could see a shift in\u00a0investment down south.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee, said: \u201cDecisions on Budget are made in the context of the prevailing economic conditions and government priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had to consider how best to target support within limited finances. The Scottish Budget reflect the impact of the revaluation in Scotland, not the revaluation in England.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t #SNP #crippling #shops #54m #bill #Tories #Daily #Business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Large shops pay a higher rate than those in England and Wales Scottish ministers have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[466,1844,272,3893,306,3890,3891,2974,3892,3387],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}