Punitive rates of property tax are curtailing the million pound property market in Scotland with a substantial drop in sales in this housing price bracket. According to a new report from real estate firm Savills last year sector seemed to be absorbing the rates of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) better than other price bands. However, the taxation malaise …

Economic experts have warned that “continuing as before is not an option” if Scotland’s budget is to remain sustainable in the long term. The Fraser of Allander Institute said Scotland faces “considerable public spending restraint” in coming years. The think tank’s annual budget preview said an “open and transparent” debate about the sustainability of public finances was now “essential”. Ministers …

Scotland’s finance secretary Derek Mackay has announced plans to “go further than the proposals of the Barclay Review” on changes to the business rates system north of the border. In a ministerial statement to Scottish Parliament, Mackay pledged to implement four key areas of Kenneth Barclay’s year-long review into business rates in Scotland: Three-yearly revaluation cycles Nurseries Updating Plant & Machinery …