Scottish retailer levy plans scrapped
Proposals to levy large retail stores in Scotland are scrapped as Parliament blocks move
PLANS TO levy large retail stores in Scotland are scrapped as Parliament blocks move
A proposed tax on large retailers that would have cost the industry £30m has been dropped by the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Large Retailer Levy would have applied to all stores with a rateable value of more than £750,000. It would have been applied to only 225 stores in Scotland and was estimated to increase business rate bills by 30% for some stores.
The tax was due to be implemented in April, but the Scottish Parliament voted to block it on 2 February.
Scottish finance secretary John Swinney said: “It is very disappointing that Parliament did not support the view that those with the broadest shoulders should bear more of the burden at a time when Westminster has slashed Scotland’s budget by £1.3bn.”
But Fiona Moriarty, a director of the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s decision: “The levy would have cost the country far more in long-term damage to investment than it would ever have raised.”
(Picture: © Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body – 2010)