It is a big day for businesses across Scotland today as they find out what rates they will have to pay from next April.
Many north-east companies are anticipating an easing of the "overinflated" bills they have had to suffer since 2017.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has warned that any move by the Scottish Government to balance the books on the backs of business ratepayers would unleash "legitimate fury".
Assessors across Scotland will today issue draft rateable values for non-domestic properties in their areas based on rental levels on April 1, 2022.
Then, at the Scottish Budget on December 15, Finance Secretary John Swinney will announce the rates poundage for 2023/4. The rateable value of each property is multiplied by the rates poundage to arrive at the actual rates payable on the building.
Completely incompatible
The last revaluation took place, 2015, before the economy in the North-east began to feel the full pain of downturn which struck the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Fergus Mutch, Policy Adviser at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: "Rateable values which came into force in 2017 were completely incompatible with the region's economic performance. Ultimately the North-east accounted for £157million of the £346million uplift in rateable values in Scotland - an eye-watering 45% from an area accounting for under 10% of Scotland's population."
The Chamber, along with other business organisations, is calling on Mr Swinney to "hold his nerve" and give businesses early confirmation that he will not increase the rates poundage across Scotland - as such a move would wipe out the benefits of any rateable value reductions. Jeremy Hunt recently confirmed the freezing the business rates multipliers and targeted support for small businesses and the high street in England.
After several years of economic hardship - with adverse factors including the oil and gas sector downturn, the pandemic and ongoing cost crisis - north-east firms are apprehensive about what the December 15 announcement will contain. Especially with the Scottish Government currently facing its own financial difficulties. Earlier this month, it detailed £1.2billion of budget cuts as inflation continues to wreak havoc on public finances.
Mr Mutch added: "The pain that businesses in the region went through as a result the last round of rates revaluations making it one of the most expensive places in the country to do business has not been forgotten. Indeed, for some, it made it impossible to continue trading in an intensely difficult economic period for our area. Others chose to site premises elsewhere.
"We are in a very different economic world today compared to Aberdeen pre-2015. Commercial premises in the city and shire are, in almost every case, much harder to lease on the open market and therefore we expect today's new draft rateable values to fully reflect this trend.
Feedback wanted
"In the coming days and weeks, the Chamber will be asking for feedback from the North-east business community on the new draft valuations so we can speak up, loud and clear, on behalf of this region's business community."
Mr Mutch had a message for the finance secretary ahead of the Budget.
He said: "If the new valuations are trending down in this region to reflect the reality of the economy today, the Scottish Government should resist the temptation to hike the rates poundage - potentially instantly cancelling out any benefit to the businesses that have been penalised since 2017.
Aberdeen clobbered
"Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire firms have been clobbered by an unfair rates regime over the past six years. We hope today is the start of a reset.
"And, on December 15, we hope to see John Swinney hold his nerve if he really wants to boost economic growth.
"Taking the strain off firms to allow them to flourish and grow is the only strategy that can prevail in lifting the Scottish economy out of the doldrums of the recession we are heading into.
"Any move to balance the books on the backs of Scottish businesses, at a critical but precarious time for our region, would unleash legitimate fury from ratepayers at a time when we need to see responsible, pro-growth stewardship of the economy."
Where to find your new rates bill
The combined draft valuation rolls will be published today on the Scottish Assessors Association's website - www.saa.gov.uk
And you can contact the Grampian team via the form here https://www.grampian-vjb.gov.uk/contact-form/
or email them at r2023@grampian-vjb.gov.uk