Rates plan ‘too much for firms’

PLANS to cut business rates discounts for empty properties could prove too much for some firms to bear, a lobby group has warned.

CBI Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to reconsider legislation which would see the discount for some unused commercial properties reduced from 50 per cent to 10 per cent.

The changes are aimed at encouraging businesses to bring properties back into use. But in a submission to Holyrood’s local government committee, the business group said a discount cut was not an effective way to achieve this. It said the proposals came at a time when many firms were facing economic hardship.