Chambers fight SNP 'myths' on business rates

Published on Thursday 14 October 2010 16:27

SCOTLAND'S powerful enterprise lobby has declared war on the SNP Government over business rates, warning it will continue to campaign against this year's controversial rises "right up to and including" the day of the Scottish elections.

In an unusually political statement of intent, both the Scottish and Edinburgh chambers of commerce warned finance minister John Swinney they will keep up the fight on rates until measures are introduced to help firms cope with the increases - in some cases of more than 200 per cent.

The warning, which coincides with the SNP's October conference in Perth, comes after the revelation that an extra 150 million will be squeezed out of firms this year despite Scottish Government claims that 60 per cent of businesses have seen a reduction or freeze in their "non-domestic rates" since April's revaluation.

Although the government contests the figure, Swinney faces accusations that he is using business rates - one of the few areas where the Scottish Government has revenue-raising powers - to bolster the coffers ahead of public spending cuts.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said the 150m sum "exposes the myth that businesses are paying less".

Birse said: "We intend to continue this campaign all the way into next year and right up to and including election day."

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, accused Swinney of failing to inform Scots firms of the rises at the earliest possible opportunity.

She said the finance minister would have had most of the necessary information at his disposal by November but businesses did not learn of the changes to their outgoings until February at the earliest.

"They had absolutely no time to plan for it despite the fact government had a lot, if not all, of the information several months in advance," Cameron said. "Quite frankly this is a campaign that we'll continue to fight until something is done about it."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The revaluation itself was carried out independently of ministers and its outcome, which means almost 60 per cent of ratepayers are better or no worse off, was announced in February, when we sought parliamentary approval of the Local Government Finance Order.

"We had to carefully consider all relevant factors - including the impact of December's UK Pre-Budget Report and our own budget process - before coming to decisions. We worked with the local assessors to ensure the business community were properly informed of the changes, which delivered average savings for 60 per cent of businesses of more than 1,300."