High taxes are now the single biggest concern of Scottish businesses – for the first time ever – according to the SNP Government’s own findings.
The latest Business Insights and Conditions Survey results, published by the Scottish Government, states: “The main concerns for businesses for April 2025 were taxation (18%) and the falling demand of good and services (13.8%); this is the first time in the series that taxation has been the top concern for businesses.”
Craig Hoy, the Scottish Conservatives’ shadow finance secretary, said the findings reflected that firms faced a “double whammy”, thanks to the damage done by Labour’s National Insurance rise and the SNP’s imposition of the highest taxes in the UK.
Scottish Conservative shadow secretary for finance and local government Craig Hoy said: “It’s no wonder that Scottish firms now see tax as their major worry.
“The UK Labour government’s National Insurance tax hike has piled on costs and will lead to job cuts. And after their disastrous emergency budget, the IFS thinks more tax rises are on the way.
“Meanwhile, the SNP government here have set the highest income tax in the UK, making it harder to attract the skilled workers essential for growth. They’ve also put Scottish firms at a disadvantage by failing to pass on rates relief.
“As a result, Scottish businesses face a grim double whammy as they have to contend with two high-tax, left-wing governments.
“Only the Scottish Conservatives are challenging this failed Holyrood consensus and calling for tax cuts to boost the Scottish economy and ease the burden on hard-pressed workers.”
Notes
Taxation is now the biggest concern for businesses in Scotland. The 128th wave of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey’s weighted Scotland estimates showed that 18% of Scottish Businesses listed ‘taxation’ as their main concern. This was a higher proportion than for any other concern. The Scottish Government said ‘this is the first time in the series that taxation has been the top concern for businesses’. (Scottish Government, 27 March 2025, link).
Taxation in Scotland is disproportionately a concern for small to medium sized businesses. The Scottish Government wave 128 BICS release states: ‘Small to medium sized businesses (10 to 249 employees) were more likely to be concerned about taxation than large businesses (250+ employees). Taxation was the main concern for 19.1% of small to medium sized businesses, compared to 8.2% of large businesses.’ (Scottish Government, 27 March 2025, link).