It is not the critic, the politician, or the councillor who counts in business; nor the man who points out how the working man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually working in the business arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who knows great enthusiasm, great devotion, and the triumph of achievement against great odds; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly—and not by the politician or councillor forcing their demise. 

Everybody pays

The public ultimately pays the highest cost, because all business expenses are eventually passed on to them through higher prices. However, business owners and workers are increasingly being burdened with too many operational costs.

Businesses today face a growing number of imposed expenses that are unrelated to profit generation and drain the financial core of the business. The sheer number of taxes—both direct and indirect—is overwhelming. These include taxes on insurance, petrol tax, road tax, rates, and various charges on water and electricity. Employment‑related costs also continue to rise. In the end, all of these costs are paid by the end user.

Money

The big problem is the Scottish Government and Councillors do not want to recognise the reality of the situation because of the money they are taking from businesses. I understand that when the policy of charging empty, non domestic properties, business rates when it was introduced, it was not legal.

Politicians shouldn’t be changing the law to cover their mismanagement nor should they use the law to extort money. see the BBC Artical on the Articals2 page.

The Unfare Everending spieral of buisness Rates 

  Why do non-domestic rates need to be paid on properties which are empty are not a business or have any revenue and how can the owners afford to pay them, when they have had, no revenue?  Is the  increase in non-domestic rates at the present time financially sustainable for Buisness Propertys? See Taxation Page.

Main Article : Don't start a buisness in Scotland with Non Domestic Rates imposed on empty Properties

First: I’m not against business rates.    second: It's the injustices of taking money from owners that have no revenue from empty properties.

Third:The manipulation by government and councils, by using empty properties tax to devalue the properties and why it

will affect, the selling price of a property with the liability, of a never-ending rates tax.

Forth: The empty shops and other non domestic properties that are empty need Younger people to take them on and us there imagination to reinvent them but the hole system is against them.

Non-domestic rates on empty properties impose a financial penalty on you when you try to close a business by charging you rates. You have only two choices: either pay up or stay open. You still have to pay the rates, water, electricity, insurance, and maintain the property whether you are open or closed. You have a third option if you are a small business that is closed or was rented out. You can start a business and apply for the Small Business Bonus Scheme, where you pay no rates, but this only applies to small businesses and has a sliding scale.

If you go bankrupt or stop trading from lack of money, God help you, as you will end up in the sheriff court with many others.

As an example, a small hotel has to close because it is not making a profit or goes bankrupt, and the amount paid in rates is £50,000 a year, plus the other costs: insurance, water, electricity, and maintenance. They try to, but can’t rent it or sell it, as it is widely known that any new owner will have to pay this £50,000 each year plus the other costs. How long do you think the owner will be able to pay the £50,000 before they lose everything, suffer a heart attack, or even take their own life due to the mental stress and depression brought on by this tax policy?

Some laws make people free; others enslave them. Goto the Freedom Page.

"FOI data reveals that Highland Council are taken 1,122 empty non‑domestic rate accounts to sheriff office for recovery action, placing many property owners under severe financial strain through circumstances often beyond their control."

-----Original Message E-mail to Highland Council and some MSPs---Sent: 01 December 2025 22:44---From: Bill kingussie.uk

I’m contacting you about the business rates on shops. I have a shop, which I used to run as a gift shop, until I got cancer. I was lucky a --- took it on but they are leaving on 25th Jan 2026 as they cannot afford the costs. It was when I phoned the rates department about it, that I found out I had to pay rates on it when it is empty. Shops  are closing, because they are no longer financally viable. I closed the shop due to financial loss and ill health I strongly believe that the rates charges are totally unjust and are destroying small shops  and people’s lives.
Owners of shops want to use them or rent them out or sell them to move on or retire.  They don’t want them lying empty. I’m now 75 and haven’t got the money or health to start up another retail business.
The rates tax on shops  devalues shops, stops people investing and repairing them and buying them as a business.
Who in their right mind would invest in buying a shop?

When you are liable for the Rates and Water, Electric, Insurance, and Maintenance costs on them when empty, for the rest of your life, if you cannot sell it or rent it. So the owner is taxed till death with no way out.
I can’t pay these costs out of my present yearly income, as the rent from the shop was my income plus my old state pension. With losing the rent it has cut my income about half.
My pension + small private pension is  £13,100 out of that I have to pay my house Rates £1973.58, Electrical and Heating £ 1500 Insurance £300 and other costs. I now have to pay the same for the empty shop Rates Valuation Notice £4600 to pay £2290 with 5 % off, Electrical connection £ 300 Insurance £700 and other costs. So £13100 - £7063 only leaves me of £6037, how do I live on that?
Small shop cannot compete with the online sellers like Amazon or supermarkets or any big retailers as they can’t get the products or stock, at a price that people will pay and let them make any kind of profit.

People do not want their High Street empty but don’t support the shops and now buy everything, on line as it is cheaper and delivered to their door. It is worst in small communities and areas with low populations like Kingussie.

The costs of setting up a shop. Any shop needs a big number of things to work, as a example a new gift shop  I would need to get the following , telephone, Internet, cash register, all sorts of wrapping, bags, signs, pricing labels and lighting, cleaning equipment, toilet rolls and then you have the ongoing costs of Insurance Fire equipment Accountants fees and  there is  shelving which would cost
£10,000 minimum. Then the big question? What kind of stock to sell and how much will it cost.  I estimate at least £60,000 just to get a minimum stock.
  About 11 years ago when I had a gift shop in it, I only made £500 profit a  year , working 6 day week , every week without a break , for last three years I had it. I doubt any of you have had to work a whole year for £500.

  I think I have still got the tax returns for then. Then you have the worry of selling anything and are you going to lose the £60,000 if you cannot get the sales. You can’t employ anybody because there is not sufficient income to pay staff wages.  They are forecasting that another 130,000 shops will close by year 2030. I would appreciate if you get back to me about this.
  Bill

Council Tax Reform: Overall UK tax levels are already high and increasingly difficult to sustain.

Council tax reform: Some MPs in England are asking Andy Burnham for tax reform, as 70% of voters say their council tax is extortionate and a majority can't pay it. In Scotland, home and commercial property rates have reached extreme levels.

Scottish councils and the Scottish Government are imposing severe council-tax liabilities on owners of homes and empty commercial properties through unfair laws and bailiff action to extort money. They are seizing people's property and homes, leaving people destitute if they cannot pay.

Many have had to close their businesses, especially shops, because they make little or no profit, cannot afford staff, or suffer illness, old age, or bankruptcy. Nevertheless, they continue to face financial demands relating to empty commercial properties. This is being forced on all empty closed commercial properties. This issue is not limited to Scotland.

If English councils are given by Andy Burnham control over rates, as has happened in Scotland, critics fear that rates could rise substantially, particularly for businesses and homeowners. Councillors may have incentives to raise as much revenue as possible to fund their own political ideology, as they are voted in by people who want something, and the money has to come from somewhere to pay for it. So they are quite happy with the financial burden falling disproportionately on some residents and business owners, whether it is right or wrong.

There may be more than four million homeowners in England who have experienced bailiff action over unpaid council tax. Critics argue that this system is expanding with insufficient public scrutiny, while some councillors, MPs, and MSPs support enforcement measures that can leave people trapped in long-term debt. This forced servitude is spreading as it is conducted in secrecy by councils and MPs and MSPs who think it is right to extort money in this way and enslave people forever.

The UK is becoming a slave economy through enforced laws and continued unfair new taxes, being added to the ever-expanding ways to take more money from ordinary individuals and businesses. The tax levels are horrendous and out of control and do not sufficiently improve ordinary people’s lives.

 Do people want shops? Yes and no — what types of shops will they use? If a shop sells drugs, cigarettes, vapes, or alcohol, yes.

They want shops so their high street or local area looks good.

Do they support the shops they want to see? No.

Do they want good food shops? Not really — people will say yes, but they don't use them. Take a good vegetable shop next to a chain supermarket. The vegetable shop sells good-quality produce at a fair price for what it takes to farm. It may be slightly more expensive than the supermarket but sometimes cheaper. Vegetables are not expensive; if people had to grow their own, they would appreciate the work that it takes to produce them and the cost they could not bear. But they have to prepare and cook them, so they buy prepacked cheap processed so-called food.

Do they want specialist individual shops in their area? Yes. But do they support them? No. People say they want them; it is good to see a shop open and to have it make a street more interesting so they can maybe browse out of interest. But do they purchase anything to keep the shop open? Mostly no. They come in, look round, and go out, then they walk past and never use it again. "That was not for me,"—they must have that big TV, expensive phone, third holiday, get their nails done, get the latest beauty treatment, that expensive car. If they need anything like that, they will get it on the internet or at the supermarket, cheaper. Not everyone thinks this way, but there aren't enough people supporting the shops to keep them open, especially individual shops. So people have only themselves to blame, but not entirely, as taxes are out of control in the UK and leave most people struggling to pay the enforced overpriced essentials they need to live and run a family, as everything is taxed. If you pay VAT and a 20% tax on your wages, that's 40% gone straight away on anything you buy if you add all the tax imposed on you for everything you need; the amount must be about 80% or more of the money you earn. It's no wonder there are no shops, as there is little money left to support them and many other businesses. We all need businesses, but we are all being taxed out of existence.

The Real Rates Reform Alliance

Andy Burnham acknowledged that the current business rates system isn't fair and has already pledged to reform business rates, but at this time he has only talked about levelling the playing field with online sellers, and only for some businesses. He hopes to increase the threshold for small business rates relief in England from £1,200 to £18,000 and extend the upper threshold up to £21,000 from £15,000. The Real Rates Reform Alliance launches today, 16/7/26, and is trying to protect high streets, support investment, and create a fairer tax system for businesses. It includes the likes of UK Hospitality and the Institute of Directors, the group which represents more than 28,000 firms and business leaders.

Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said the time had come for fundamental reform. It calculated that digital firms pay 9 per cent of total business rates despite accounting for a fifth of economic activity, while retail and hospitality firms contribute 34 per cent of business rates while only making up around 9 per cent of the UK economy, so firms had been forced to cut jobs and freeze hiring and investment.

Have a look at the Real Rates Reform campaign at:
website: https://realratesreform.co.uk/#what-is-the-hybrid-business-rate-solution