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We will pass the petition on to those with whom it belongs—those who are responsible for the levy. We will add a question about the current scheme for exemptions.
That brings me to my final point, which relates to the political levy. I understand why the political levy was put in place and agree with the reasons for doing that, as it provided necessary support for the labour movement at the time.
The bill does not require a fee to be charged; a public authority may decide not to levy a fee or to request a lower fee than that to which it is entitled.
The Executive's cover note on the secondary consultation on the draft regulations states:"It is thought appropriate to levy a small application fee, payable by the debtor, which could make a contribution towards the administrative costs of the Scheme."
If that were to happen and Glasgow was allowed to retain more of the money from the business rates that are levied within its boundaries, the loss of Braehead would become an extremely expensive loss to Glasgow.
We believe that, if that requires taxes—which would need to be levied fairly, taking account of ability to pay and of the other factors that govern taxation—it would still be popular both with the people whom we represent and with the population more generally.
Scotland will be especially hard hit, as a higher percentage of primary aggregate tends to be used, because fewer alternatives are available. The £1.60 per tonne levy represents a 40 to 50 per cent increase in Scotland, compared with 12 to 16 per cent in southern England.