MANY businesses in Scotland were left confused and angry by this year’s non-domestic rates revaluation, but the possible effects on the licensed trade were particularly worrying. Pubs have had a difficult time of it lately and yet the revaluation landed them with large increases which some said could push them over the edge.

In the face of the furore over the revaluation, and a series of articles in The Herald which spelled out the effects, the Scottish Government did offer a cap on rates in the hospitality sector. It was a welcome move, although it is baffling why the Government could not wait for the Barclay Review on business rates before forcing through the revaluation.

The fact that Tennent’s is making a last-minute appeal to pubs to challenge the new rateable value of their premises is also an indication of just how broken the system is. Tennent’s says the way that hospitality businesses are assessed for rates needs to be reformed and they are right to do so – the calculation of pubs’ rates is based partly on turnover while the rates of other types of property are calculated largely on square footage.

It is this kind of anomaly that the Barclay Review will have to fix if the system is to have any chance of winning back the support of business. In the short term, businesses can and should appeal. In the longer term, we need a system that is clearer and fairer.