By Bill Heaney
The independent Fraser of Allander Institute has found that only nine per cent of firms in Scotland say that the SNP Government understands the business environment, according to Holyrood Tory group leader Russell Findlay.
He claimed: “First Minister John Swinney talks about investment stimulating growth, but the point is that there has been no return on that so-called investment by the Government.
“Over the past three years, SNP ministers have received more than £600 million from the United Kingdom Government to provide rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector, but struggling Scottish businesses have barely received one tenth of that figure.
Scottish Tory Russell Findlay, left and First Minister John Swinney.
“Michael Bergson of the Buck’s Bar group has told us that the SNP’s failure to pass on rates relief was a ‘disgrace’. Stephen Montgomery of the Scottish Hospitality Group has said that, ‘at the very minimum, tax relief should be passed on in full and with no cap’.
“Scottish businesses urgently need more help, so will John Swinney do the right thing?”
The First Minister rebutted Russell Findlay’s assertions. He told MSPs: “First, he says that there is no evidence of growth. Scotland’s gross domestic product per capita has grown faster than the United Kingdom’s since 2007—if we account for population growth since 2007, GDP per person has grown by 10.5 per cent in Scotland, compared with 6.3 per cent at the UK level.
“I remind Parliament, so that it has the complete information, that 2007 was the moment when the Scottish Government was elected. Therefore, in this Government’s lifespan, we have delivered more growth per head than in the rest of the United Kingdom.
“The second point is that most of the taxation that is imposed on business is not determined by this Parliament; most of it is determined by the United Kingdom Parliament.
“With regard to business rates, we have the most comprehensive business relief scheme for small businesses. That means, in our estimations, that about 50 per cent of the hospitality sector pays absolutely no business rates whatsoever in Scotland. That is where we take our action to support the sector in Scotland.”
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