Small Business Bonus saves Highland businesses £37m

20th December 2012

Approximately £37 million worth of rates relief have been awarded across the Highlands local areas since the introduction of the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) in 2008, Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said today on a visit to The Drawing Room in Inverness.

The Drawing Room, owned by Highland businesswoman Mairi Fraser, is one of 8,383 businesses premises to have benefited from rates relief since the introduction of the SBBS in 2008. Almost half of all business properties in the Highlands, 48.5 per cent, benefit from the SBBS.

The Drawing Room, which stocks gifts, jewellery and home furnishings, has saved almost £16,000 since 2008, from a total of £36.9 million saved on business rates across the Highlands area.

SBBS is just part of a relief package worth over £500 m this year, under which almost three out of five properties or 57 per cent of premises in Scotland pay reduced or zero business rates.

Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said:"The Scottish Government is committed to retaining Scotland’s position as the most supportive and competitive environment for business in the UK. The SBBS is just one example of how we are making a positive difference to local economies and almost half of all business properties in the Highlands now benefit from the SBBS.

"The Drawing Room is just one of over 85,000 properties that now benefit from SBBS as part of the most generous package of reliefs anywhere in the UK - a figure which represents two out of every five commercial premises in Scotland.

"SBBS and other reliefs combined give Scottish business a real competitive edge. The Drawing Room is just one of around 8,400 business premises in the Highland that have saved almost £37 million in business rates tax since the scheme was introduced.

"We have committed to continue the Bonus Scheme for the life of the Parliament, providing long term stability to Scottish SME's, so that they can contribute to Scotland’s economic success and growth. Businesses could save up to £4,500 this year ”

Owner of The Drawing Room, Mairi Fraser, said:“In 2007, when The Drawing Room first opened its doors we paid around £3,000 for our business rates which was a huge sum to add to the many start-up costs we had already encountered. The following year the SBBS was introduced by the Scottish Government and our business rates were reduced to 10 per cent of their previous level and the year after dropped to zero. I cannot emphasise enough the significance the SBBS makes to a small business such as ours, as it surely does for many others.

“The paperwork is very straightforward, with a single form to complete. At a time when the retail industry is under pressure, this scheme shows that the Scottish Government values small independent retailers. As this scheme continues it should encourage new small businesses to open, wouldn’t it be great if our High Streets were home to independent businesses again?”