With government spending facing its own inflation headache and demands for increased public sector wages, fiscal rectitude amongst policymakers is now the order of the day.

The new Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is due next week and there seems little doubt that substantial reductions in public spending and higher taxes are on the way. At Holyrood, the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, was quick off the mark with his Emergency Budget Review unveiled last week. He outlined a further round of devolved government savings as well as assistance to less well-off households.

It matters profoundly to business that Mr Swinney succeeds with his plans to reduce the cost of devolved government. This will help militate against the need for future tax rises on firms or households which could in turn stymie economic recovery.

Unfortunately, there was little by way of immediate relief from the “costs emergency” for firms in the Budget review. Hopefully, this can be addressed in next month’s Scottish Budget. What the review did contain was encouraging noises about addressing the regulatory burden, however the detail is awaited. Despite the economic landscape having shifted markedly in recent times it appears little – thus far – is being done to tangibly stem or pause some of the regulatory interventions which firms are currently facing.

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The current focus on trimming public expenditure is likely to shift towards taxation and the thorny question of whether higher or even new taxes are required. Despite very public debate over the merits or otherwise of extending the windfall tax on energy companies, Scotland’s political parties are quietly examining a range of options for flexing the tax system.

The accord struck between the Green Party and Scottish Ministers commits them to replacing council tax. It’s unclear whether any replacement would seek to generate more or less revenue, what its impact might be on household finances, or indeed whether there might be administrative implications for employers from any replacement tax as was the case with the aborted local income tax.

Over and above this, the Scottish Government’s Framework for Tax promised to explore a new business rates levy on commercial premises where the owner is registered in a tax haven. My sense is this will have little bearing on retail, but it may for other sectors. Again, any official analysis of the pros and cons and practicalities of this new rates levy remains unclear.

Both the Scottish Conservatives and Labour are interested in reforming or replacing the non-domestic rates system. The latter, according to their Empowering Communities paper, is also seeking to give councils more fiscal powers.

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Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have just reaffirmed their desire to scrap the uniform business rate and hand control over the setting of the poundage rate, reliefs, and supplements to each of Scotland’s 32 councils. This was rejected two years ago by Parliament during the passage of the then Non-Domestic Rates Bill. Suffice to say retailers are less than thrilled about fragmenting the rates system, fearing it could add complexity and push up costs at a time when the business rate is already at a 23-year high.

Of course, several local taxes are already in the pipeline. Local authorities now have the power to introduce workplace parking levies and Edinburgh City Council is reportedly considering doing just that. This would be levied on firms rather than individuals and come on top of the business rates that firms already pay on these parking spaces provided for staff. Scottish Ministers have also committed to legislating for a tourism tax and a new charge on coffee cups.

So, there are potentially several new levies and taxes that may trouble the pockets of consumers and firms in the months and years to come. That reinforces the need to have a more coherent and strategic approach to new taxes, instead of the large dollop of ad hockery which has characterised the approach of late.

It seems that government fiscal decisions being taken now and over the coming months could ultimately prove even more taxing for firms in future.

David Lonsdale is director of the Scottish Retail Consortium