Federation of Small Businesses express concerns about the SNP’s record in government
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Business concerns about the SNP’s record in government abound, with the latest being expressed by the Federation of Small Businesses.
Highlands and Islands development manager David Richardson is deeply concerned about the impact of new restrictions, legislation and levies on local traders who he says are “under the severest pressures from many other quarters.”
He argues that “these will add still further to costs and administrative pressures, and quite possibly impact on consumer demand.”
He said: “The Scottish Government is introducing – or planning to introduce – some really significant new regulations that individually, and in some cases collectively, will have a major impact on smaller businesses – Short-term Lets Licences, the Deposit Return Scheme, restrictions on the advertising and promotion of alcohol, and the Local Visitor Levies/tourist tax paid by businesses’ customers to name but four.
“These will add still further to costs and administrative pressures, and quite possibly impact on consumer demand, at a time when businesses are under the severest pressures from many other quarters.
“Clearly, all of these regulations impact primarily on tourism and hospitality businesses, a major concern given that the Highlands as a whole has a visitor-based economy, and many communities are heavily dependent on these businesses – much more so than in most other parts of Scotland.
His question for the three in the running to become First Minister is – “Will you plough on with these new regulations regardless, or will you pause matters pending more consultation with businesses and greater analysis of the facts, cancelling them altogether if that is the conclusion?”
