The rates system is driving businesses out of Aberdeen and stifling investment in the city, an MSP has warned.
And a "worrying number" of firms are demolishing premises to save money, Douglas Lumsden told the Press and Journal.
The north-east Conservative MSP added: "The business rates system doesn't work for Aberdeen and must be changed."
He was speaking after it emerged 650 commercial properties have been empty in the Granite City this tax year.
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information rules show 389 offices, 137 industrial units and 89 shops vacant in Aberdeen during 2022/23.
And 31 leisure premises and four healthcare facilities have also sat idle.
Empty property relief
Many of these buildings qualify for empty property relief, so the owners don't have to pay the full cost of business rates.
Industrial properties get 100% relief from rates for the first six months they're empty. Most other properties qualify for a 50% cut for the first three months.
But these discounts are reduced to just 10% after the initial relief period. The owners must then pay 90% of their rates bill for a building lying empty and unproductive.
Unsurprisingly, many businesses are thought to be mulling demolition as a cheaper option.
According to the Tories, the Scottish Government missed an opportunity in its recent Budget to introduce rates relief specifically for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.
Mr Lumsden believes business ratepayers in Aberdeen also deserve special treatment.
'Killing' businesses
He said: "These alarming (empty property) figures highlight the rates system at present is killing businesses across Aberdeen.
"Companies across the north-east are still having to pay rates based on 2015 economic conditions because the SNP Government delayed the revaluation to 2023.
"We are now seeing a worrying number of firms demolishing their premises to save money, as the current rates system is driving businesses away and stifling investment in Aberdeen.
"The SNP/Green government also needs to regularise business rates to the same as the rest of the UK before more companies go out of business."
But a Scottish Government spokesperson told the P&J: "The Scottish Budget 2023/24 delivers the number one ask of the business community by freezing the rates poundage at 49.8p - the lowest in the UK for the fifth year in a row - saving ratepayers £308million, compared to an inflationary increase.
"This ensures around 250,000 properties in Scotland continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK."
Meanwhile, the government insists its Small Business Bonus Scheme is the most generous of its kind in the UK. It takes about 100,000 properties out of rates altogether.