Why it is good to reopen a closed shop or other business; till you sell it, if you can.
First: If it is a small shop or business you can apply for the small business bonus scheme, and you may be eligible to get the rates down or abolished.
100% to 25% for properties with a rateable value between £12,001 and £15,000
25% to 0% for properties with a rateable value between £15,001 and £20,000
Second: If it is Left Empty, you will be forced to pay anyway, or end up in the sheriff court. And you will be taxed twice when you pay it. If the amount you have to pay is £4800, you have to get the money somehow. So you get a Job to pay it. You earn £4800 but you have to pay tax on that £960 at 20% so you get only £3840. To get the £4800 you have to work to get £6000 less 20% tax £1200 gives you £4800 so you can pay the tax.
The original tax £4800 + £1200 tax on you wage, total cost to you £6000 not £4800.
Third: This applies to all coasts, you will be taxed twice on a empty property. As a example
For water and electric, you’re not using power or water but, the water has a Annual charge £120 and roof runoff £20 charge per quarter as dos the electric standing charge About a £1 a Day £365
Insurance is more if a property is left empty by up to 50% so if £800 it will be £1200 then you have the repairs costs.
Amount wage 20% Tax correct wage amount required
Rates £4800 + - £960 = £3840 £6000 the tax £1200
Water £200 + - £40 = £160 £250 the tax £50
Electric £365 + - £73 = £292 £438 the tax £90
Insurance £1200 + - £240 = £1060 £1440 the tax £250
Total year costs £6565. To get this amount to be able to pay the tax, you have to work to get £8128 (£6565 + 20% tax).
Fourth: If you can open a business in the empty property and it runs at a loss, (which is probably way you closed it, in the first place) you can offset the losses against any other income you get. This only applies if you have other incomes coming in like rent from a property, interest on bank accounts, savings and work you do that make a profit.
Tourism Tax taken from businesses in Scotland must be by law reinvested in tourism related services and facilities councils by law must give regularly reports what it is spent on. But Edinburg council is probably using some of this money to fund housing. Housing is not tourism related and you have to remember that councils are forced a ever ending slave tax on owners of empty non-domestic rate properties for life if they cant sell the property.
There has been a ongoing discussion within highland council members as a way to raise this tax and to shape proposals for it. they say it will be reinvested in tourism but, it is the Law they have to. It would be good if it is used to help you. But will existing money just disappear and be replaced by this? A councillor said visitor levies are common throughout tourism hotspots but you don't need to have one here. Over 2 billion is spent yearly by tourists where dos all this money go, most of it goes on numerous tax's.
So way are accommodation business having this tax forced on them and there customers by councils don't they pay enuf with the business rates already and how many other businesses are going to be taxed by this now and in the coming years. It will be ordinary people and businesses that will have to pay this tax and the running costs as well as extra accountants fees and time.
Scottish Councils have been given the ability to charge this at 5% extra on bills, You can bet it was set up, to get as much money that, they can get away with. How much will it increase in yearly to come?
In England, mayors are being given the power to charge this tourism tax on accommodation. Labour councils have said they will cap it at 5% but there is no limit and it will end up with extreme variations in different parts and it will be spent on what mayors decide to spend it on. but that is £5 on top of every £100 spent by UK residents and tourists. This tax won't stay at 5%. In Edinburgh it is set at 5%, already accommodation businesses have had hostility from tourists and bad reviews on social media about the tax. And where will the money go? I doubt it will be used for tourism, and if it is, it will be used to replace existing funding which will be diverted elsewhere.
People staying for 5 nights, paying £150 a night, will each pay £7.50 per night — £37.50 for 5 days, but 10,000 people will pay £375,000. This is money they could spend with other businesses. I have no doubt this is going to affect all businesses in the long term. The price of accommodation is already way overpriced because of taxation, and this will deter people from using any accommodation as it has in the Scottish Highlands. I personally can't afford accommodation at the prices being charged, so how does a family justify using British accommodation? Will this tourism tax be extended to other businesses, like food — 5% on every meal?
Here's a clear and straightforward explanation of why empty non‑domestic (commercial) properties are still charged business rates, how owners manage these costs, and whether current rate levels are financially sustainable.
Why business (non‑domestic) rates must still be paid on empty properties
Business rates are charged on empty commercial properties because:
• The tax is based on the property’s existence, not its profitability.
The government views commercial property as an asset that has value, even when unused. But if it is unused, how can it have value.
• Rates fund local services. Local authorities rely heavily on business rate income to fund essential services such as waste collection, roads, and public infrastructure. Empty properties still benefit indirectly from these services. But only when Open.
• To discourage long‑term vacancy. Charging rates on empty properties is meant to incentivize owners to bring properties back into use, preventing town‑centre decline and dereliction. But the traditional business models do not work now..
• Councels had "empty property relief" periods but now full rates apply.
How owners are expected to afford rates, when the property has no revenue
Many owners struggle, but the system assumes that:
• The owner has capital reserves or financing to cover ongoing property costs (similar to how a homeowner pays council tax even if unemployed). But if unemployed or on low incomes they get a grate amount of financial help.
• Empty property is considered a business risk.
Owners are expected to price this risk into their investment or development plans. This maybe true of big companies but it is fare from true, for small independent businesses.
• Relief schemes exist: But these schemes often do not help or fully offset the cost.
In reality, some owners cannot afford the rates and may: • Sell the property if they can.
• Let it at a reduced rent: Which often happens.
• Convert it to another use (e.g., residential) if they can and have the money to do so.
• Abandon it or go into insolvency: Which is the increasingly, the way things are going.
• Commercial landlords are experiencing high vacancy rates, especially in retail and office sectors, due to online shopping, remote work, and economic slowdown.
• Rates have risen faster than commercial rental income, meaning the tax burden can exceed what the property earns.
• For some businesses, business rates are one of the largest operating costs, sometimes surpassing rent.
• Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot absorb the increases, leading to closures, forced downsizing, or relocation.
• Property owners with empty buildings face especially severe strain, as they must pay full rates without income.
• Various business groups and economists have warned that the system is outdated and contributes to urban decline.
Conclusion: The current level of business rates — especially after recent increases — is widely regarded as financially unsustainable for many commercial properties, particularly those that are vacant or low-income.
Is the current increase in non‑domestic rates financially sustainable for commercial properties? Short answer: For many businesses and landlords, no — not in the long term.
A thoughtful question is taxation fair on businesses and is it destroying the planet? It combines economics, politics, and environmental policies, so let me try to put over, my thoughts on it, hopefully clearly. How do businesses and consumers react to continual tax changes? And whether the tax system encourages or discourages businesses and environmentally harmful behaviour.
1. Does raising taxes increase resource use?
Not inherently. Higher taxes do not automatically require more materials, goods, or services to be produced. What actually increases resource use is economic activity, not taxation by itself. Examples:
• If a business raises prices or production to maintain profit margins after a tax increase, that can increase resource use.
• If taxes fund construction, infrastructure, military spending, or other material-intensive projects, that uses resources.
• If taxes are used for education, healthcare, conservation, or public services that are actually of benefit to the public, resource use is relatively low.
So the relationship is indirect, not automatic.
Short answer: For many businesses and landlords, no — not in the long term.
• Commercial landlords are experiencing high vacancy rates, especially in retail and office sectors, due to online shopping, remote work, and economic slowdown.
• Rates have risen faster than commercial rental income, meaning the tax burden can exceed what the property earns.
• For some businesses, business rates are one of the largest operating costs, sometimes surpassing rent.
• Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot absorb the increases, leading to closures, forced downsizing, or relocation.
• Property owners with empty buildings face especially severe strain, as they must pay full rates without income.
• Various business groups and economists have warned that the system is outdated and contributes to urban decline.
Conclusion: The current level of business rates — especially after recent increases — is widely regarded as financially unsustainable for many commercial properties, particularly those that are vacant or low-income.
Do you think the politicians give any real concern, for the planet we live on?
This varies widely:
• Some politicians strongly prioritize environmental policy, green energy incentives, conservation programs and implement carbon taxes.
• Others prioritize economic growth at any cost, for jobs and political survival, and may resist environmental regulations they see as costly or unpopular but maybe are necessary for business and the planet.
• Some balance both concerns, depending on their voters and their party.
There is no single answer because political motivations differ by country, ideology, and individual.
But it is true that political survival and tax often influences decision-making. Policies with long-term benefits but short-term costs (like climate policy) are harder to push through.
Are politicians mainly protecting their own high-paying positions?
Many business people feel this way, especially when there is:
• Lack of transparency
• Lobbying influence from other politicians to intrigues higher taxes
• Slow or weak environmental financial help for businesses to adapt
• Perceived disconnection between politicians and business people and there employees
However, this is not universally true. There are some politicians, activists, scientists, and public servants who genuinely work to address issues with buisinesses — but their influence can be limited by politics, economics, and other pressure from politicians .
Some Politicians are prepared to keep saying we need the money “to fund the public purse. It is their favoured get-out clause” but they never really justify it. Why don’t they, just stop spending “money” they don’t have? “A business” can’t just extort, more money’ from its customers without losing them. “Businesses have to do something; politicians don’t” So why are business people and their employees voting for them? Some politicians understand what businesses “go through” to make a profit, that is sufficient for them to survive and expand, but most politicians don’t and do not care even when they, imply they do.
Yes, taxation can increase economic pressure on businesses, but the extent depends on several factors:
• Higher taxes (such as corporate income tax, payroll tax, property tax, or sales/VAT obligations) reduce a business’s net profits and available cash flow.
• When taxes rise, businesses may respond by increasing prices, reducing investment, cutting costs, or slowing hiring.
• Small and medium-sized businesses tend to feel tax pressure more strongly because they have fewer financial reserves and less capacity to absorb additional costs.
• In some cases, well designed taxes can support economic stability if they fund infrastructure, public services, or incentives that eventually benefit businesses but most of the time they don’t.
• The overall impact depends on the tax type, industry, profit margin, and the general economic environment.