Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson challenged her at First Minister’s Questions today after firms of various sizes spoke of “daylight robbery” and firms being “driven into insolvency”.
They have both been hit by a hike in business rates, and the SNP’s overnight doubling of the large business supplement.
Precision Oil Tools, based in Kintore, will see its rates go up by 63 per cent in April, despite having just 12 employees.
And Peterhead firm Score group has discovered it will have to pay an additional £120,000, and may have to turn apprentices away as a result.
Its managing director Conrad Ritchie said: “We have some of the highest rates here and this increase will price many businesses out of the markets they compete in locally, nationally or worldwide.”
The concerns were raised a day after it emerged Scotland was falling behind the rest of the UK on both jobs and growth.
But despite saying how she intended to address these issues, the First Minister echoed her employability minister Jamie Hepburn’s claims that Brexit was to blame, despite the rest of Britain going through the same constitutional process.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“Unemployment is up in Scotland, employment is down, and confidence in comparison to the rest of the UK is falling through the floor.
“Now we learn companies across the country, of varying sizes, are deeply concerned about the impact of rising rates and SNP tax grabs.
“The Scottish Government is being warned that these changes will send firms to the wall, and make Scotland the least competititve part of the UK to do business.
“Yet we heard nothing from Nicola Sturgeon about how she will help these organisations which are crucial to employment and their local economies.
“Her run-to subject is always Brexit, yet neither of the firms that spoke to us were citing that as a concern – they wanted Scottish Government support.
“The SNP is about to present the most important budget since devolution.
“It should drop its plan to make Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK, and provide support to businesses to give them the backing they need.”