Abolish Unfair Business Rates and Back Scotland’s High Streets

Anas Sarwar announces plans to abolish Scotland’s unfair business rates system and replace it with a new local business levy that helps businesses grow and supports thriving local economies. 

Mr Sarwar says Scotland needs change after 20 years of SNP government and that a Scottish Labour government will fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.

After years of SNP failure to pass on rates relief and reform a system that is holding businesses back, Scotland’s town centres and high streets have been hollowed out while the cost of doing business has kept rising.

Scottish Labour says the current system is outdated, unbalanced and failing the businesses that keep local economies alive. 

The damage is plain to see. The number of Scottish retail businesses with at least one employee has fallen to a 15-year low.

Between 2015 and 2025, the number of retail businesses and jobs both fell by around a tenth, with more than 900 businesses and 24,600 jobs lost over the decade.

The latest figures also show Scotland’s town centre vacancy rate is 11.4 per cent, meaning around one in nine premises are lying empty. 

Mr Sarwar says the SNP has left high streets and town centres to struggle while online giants and large distribution warehouses are allowed to pay less than their fair share.

Under the current system, retail shops face rising costs while large distribution warehouses can receive discounts of between 10 and 25 per cent on local rental rates. 

Scottish Labour will abolish the unfair business rates system and work with business to design a new local business levy that can be phased in by the end of the Parliament.

The first steps will rebalance the system in favour of high streets and town centres, make sure online giants and large distribution warehouses pay fair retail rates, and return empty units to use.

Commenting, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said:

“After years of SNP failure, too many businesses feel the rates system is stacked against them while town centres decline and costs rise.

“The SNP failed to pass on the same rates relief available elsewhere in the UK, and too many businesses on our high streets have paid the price.

“I’m standing to fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.

“That’s why a Scottish Labour government will abolish the unfair business rates system and replace it with a new local business levy that backs entrepreneurship, supports thriving town centres and helps local economies grow.

“That means rebalancing the system in favour of the high street, making sure online giants and large distribution warehouses pay their fair share, and giving businesses a fairer system that supports investment and growth.

“It also means more accountability, with reform of the Scottish Assessor model so businesses are no longer stuck with a system that is too often opaque and unaccountable.

“We want town centres that are full, high streets that are thriving, and a tax system that backs local enterprise instead of holding it back.

“On May 7, vote Scottish Labour on both votes for the change Scotland needs.”