SCC COMMENTS ON JOHN SWINNEY BUSINESS RATES MEETING

Speaking after the meeting on 28 June to discuss business rates between Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

"We believe that we have made some progress with the Minister but we remain concerned about the Scottish Government's continued intransigence on the issue of transitional relief.

"The fact is that many businesses across Scotland are facing rates bills that have doubled overnight and the Government here is failing to provide the same cushion that businesses in England have received.  With little notice and no consultation prior to the withdrawal of transitional relief in Scotland, businesses have had no time to plan for the additional costs, and the results, in some circumstances, could be catastrophic.  As a result, this is an issue which we believe the Government must revisit.

"The minister has however agreed to look again at some of the arcane appeals procedures which could delay businesses receiving a positive outcome to the challenges to their rates assessments that we expect them to make over the coming weeks. That is positive news and we will be providing the minister with further evidence on this later in the week. The minister has also agreed for his civil servants to discuss further with SCC the Government’s calculations regarding this year’s revaluation.

“This meeting has taken us a step forward, but we will not rest until all Scottish businesses receive a fair deal on rates.”

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