Time to end tax breaks for shooting estates
It’s time to end tax breaks for shooting estates, say the Scottish Greens. The call was made by the Party’s finance spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP, during a parliamentary statement on Non-Domestic Rates.
Analysis by the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre in 2020 found that shooting estates avoided millions of pounds a year in tax through their eligibility for the Scottish Government’s Small Business Bonus Scheme.
In response to a question by Ross, Tom Arthur, the Minister for Public Finance, agreed to discuss the issue as part of the Scottish Government’s upcoming work on further Non-Domestic Rate reforms.
Speaking after the debate, Ross said:
“Shooting estates owned from offshore tax havens or by billionaires have absolutely no need for tax breaks. It will be staggering to most people that they are eligible for a scheme designed for small businesses. Our public services are missing out on millions of pounds of funding every year as a result of this.
“These huge estates are used by a tiny number of very wealthy people to sadistically kill animals for sport. That’s hardly the kind of business we want to promote.
“I am glad that the Minister has agreed to discuss the Scottish Greens’ proposals to disqualify shooting estates from this tax break and end this ridiculous and totally unnecessary handout.”