Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether reducing tax costs for businesses through rates reliefs would support (a) enterprise in and (b) the local economy of the Mid Scotland and Fife region, and what action it is taking to do so.
The 2024-25 Scottish Budget delivers a competitive non-domestic rates regime including the lowest poundage in the UK for the sixth year in a row, and a package of reliefs worth an estimated £685 million. As at 1 June 2024, over 20,000 properties in the Clackmannanshire, Fife, Perth and Kinross, and Stirling council areas benefited from one or more non-domestic rates reliefs, worth almost £84 million.
The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the enormous pressures facing businesses across Scotland and considers carefully how best to target support for businesses within the limited finances available, noting the important role non-domestic rates play in public finances.
Decisions on non-domestic rates for next year will be considered in the context of the Scottish Budget 2025-26.
The Scottish Government has further committed £45.1 million to the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, which aims to support economic growth throughout the city region. The Deal supports projects across the region, in sectors including innovation, skills, culture heritage and tourism, and active travel.
In addition, through the Forth Green Freeport, the Scottish Government and UK Government are working together to provide targeted tax incentives at strategic port sites within the Forth estuary. In designated Green Freeport tax site areas in Rosyth and Burntisland, businesses will have access to a range of reserved and devolved tax incentives (including Non-Domestic Rates and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax reliefs). These incentives aim to help drive investment and high-quality job creation in key sectors for the region including offshore wind, shipbuilding, and advanced manufacturing.