Update: Business Rates Revaluation

Posted on November 28, 2018February 2, 2023 by Melanie Allen

The ASSC has received the following update from the Scottish Assessors Association regarding the Committee citation programme:

Argyll and Bute Dunbarton	Dealt with June 18 March 19
Highland	Dealt with October 18
Borders	28-Nov-18
Tayside	29-Nov-18
Central	Dec 18 & Feb 19
O&S	Feb-19
Lothian	14-Mar-19
Renfrew	Summer 19

The statistics are proving to be more troublesome than first envisaged, mainly because there is an imbalance between the appeal numbers on the portal v. the records held for Lothian. It may be a data upload issue which is being investigated. This means that the statistics for the other Assessors’ shown below may not be totally accurate and are best described as a ‘steer’:-

Ayrshire – 5

Central – 10

Dunbarton – 4

Dumfries and Galloway – 11

Fife – 18

Glasgow – 10

Grampian – 21

Lothian – 242

Orkney and Shetland – 2

Renfrew – 0

Scottish Borders – 0

Tayside – 53

In summary, appeals have been resolved in Argyll and Bute, Highland, Lothian, Scottish Borders and in Tayside.

Lothian has the most appeals and they have been cited for a hearing on 14^th March 2019 (citations posted last Friday) – the citations have Lothian Assessor surveyor’s contact details and members are more than welcome to contact the person directly if they wish to do so.

Scottish Government Tourist Tax Discussion

Posted on November 23, 2018December 13, 2022 by Melanie Allen

Scottish Government is facilitating a national discussion on the issue of tourism tax, to allow all relevant and interested parties to share their views and evidence for and against.

We are urging members to participate, please link to the discussion HERE

For further information and for ASSC’s position on a tourism tax please see our full report:

ASSC TVL Written Evidence

ASSC Statement on Planning (Scotland) Bill Amendment

Posted on November 23, 2018February 2, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

ASSC Statement on Planning (Scotland) Bill Amendment

Scottish Green MSP, Andy Wightman, has proposed an amendment to the Planning (Scotland) Bill which would require people to get planning permission to let out their home as a short-term let.

The change he makes to the bill is that ‘the use of a dwellinghouse for the purpose of providing short-term holiday lets involves a material change in the use of the building’. The proposal would not stand in the way of people letting out a spare room or letting out their main or primary residence on a residential lease but would apply when they sought to operate an entire property as a short-term let.

The ASSC opposes this proposal as we do not believe short-term lets constitute a material change of use. We believe that a home is still residential, regardless of whether it is a self-catering unit or a long-term residence. The Bill will progress to its next Stage (Stage 3) in early 2019 – where all MSPs will have an opportunity to vote for or against this amendment.

We are working tirelessly on this; including engaging with MSPs of all parties and government ministers and officials trying to have these amendments removed, or at least amended to reflect the specific needs and concerns of our members, from the bill. We will continue to work with other stakeholders and MSPs to get an outcome with which we are happy.