Chambers step up campaign on rates

CHAMBERS of Commerce across Scotland will this week raise their campaign against the "immoral" and "unjustifiable" increases in business rates for 40 per cent of Scottish firms.

Businesses hit by the latest assessment of NDRs are being urged to lodge an appeal at the office of their local assessor after thousands of companies have seen costs soar - in the most extreme cases, by more than 400 per cent.

Business rates are revalued by assessors every five years based on the rental value of a firm's property or, in the case of hotels, on their turnover.

A row erupted in April when it emerged that the latest valuation was based on rental values and turnover in April 2008, before the global recession crippled the Scots economy.

Although the Scottish Government claims 60 per cent of firms north of the Border either face the same rates or have seen their bill fall, Chambers of Commerce report their members are in dire straits. Their statistics show the majority of members have been saddled with crippling rises, which are threatening some firms' ability to survive the next 12 months.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "The recovery depends on the ability of businesses to trade profitably through the recession."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "If businesses without a genuine case appeal, then that will simply serve to clog the system and create backlogs."