Scrapping bonus scheme will make it difficult for firms to survive, says FSB boss
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Proposals following a review of the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) have prompted concern that scrapping the scheme could have a negative effect on businesses.
The Fraser of Allander Institute has today published an official review of the Scottish Government scheme – a rate relief for small firms – that proposes the creation of a digital registry of businesses in Scotland to measure the impact of Scottish Government business policy.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland has urged the government to retain rates relief for small businesses.
FSB Highlands & Islands development manager, David Richardson, said: “The Highlands & Islands is characterised by numerous very small businesses, many of them both seasonal and marginal but nonetheless vital to the health of their communities, and the cost of doing business, especially in rural communities, is high under normal circumstances.
"However, trading conditions have changed dramatically for the worse since this Fraser of Allander institute review was commissioned in 2019, and today our businesses, many of them debt-laden thanks to Covid, face huge supply-chain disruption and spiralling energy bills.
“Scrapping this relief – a lifeline for many – would lead to a significant increase in business costs, making it more difficult for firms to survive mounting cash flow difficulties, undermining struggling high streets, and damaging communities.
“While accepting – in the face of recent developments – the need to adapt and modernise both the small business bonus and the wider Scottish rates system, making them more user-friendly in the process, the FSB wants Ministers to stick by their manifesto commitment and keep this relief as the cornerstone of their small business support policies.”
