Fury at sky-high rates bill
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A LEADING city hotelier has reacted with fury after being hit with a rates demand which takes no account of a previously promised cap on bills.
Tony Story, managing director of the Patio Hotels Group which owns the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, says the rates bill for this month for the property was £38,000.
He has slammed the council for “charging full whack and promising a rebate later”, saying it could put smaller firms out of business.
This year marks the first rates revaluation since 2010 and, as previously reported in the Inverness Courier, many hotels faced a potentially massive increase in bills – some by up to 80 per cent or more.
In the face of an organised campaign against the move, Scottish Government finance minister Derek Mackay announced a 12.5 per cent cap on rises for the hospitality sector in February.
However, it has now emerged councils are simply not geared up for the turnaround.
Many, including Highland Council, are apparently still waiting for the computer software that will allow them to calculate the actual rate businesses should now be paying.
Mr Story said: “It’s a cashflow issue and some businesses may not have the capacity to pay out such large bills and simply wait for the ‘overpayment’ to be refunded, especially at this time of year when we’re still pretty much in low season.
“It’s ridiculous and completely unfair that councils are levying charges that the national government has said should not be the case,”
Manager of Inverness Business Improvement District, Mike Smith, said he had “every sympathy” for the council after the Scottish Government introduced the cap “extremely late in the day”.
He added: “There was no advance warning to councils so they weren’t able to plan for this and are effectively just trying to catch up now.”
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said it was waiting for the necessary software to arrive and until it did, any applications made for rates relief were being worked out manually.
With information on the process of applying for rates relief being made available online before the new regime came into force, she added: “A transitional relief information leaflet was also enclosed with every 2017/18 rates bill, again inviting online applications.
“To date we have received around 200 applications for transitional relief which are being given priority to ensure those rate payers affected by increases in their rateable values receive adjusted bills promptly.”
