Main announcements from the Scottish Budget 2022-23

Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes, delivered the Scottish Budget for 2022/23 to the Scottish Parliament on 9 December 2021. The main areas prioritised in this Scottish Budget were business recovery, the transition to “net zero” carbon emissions and tackling child poverty, with the doubling of the Scottish child payment having already been announced. We’ve highlighted the main announcements below:

• Rates relief for retail, hospitality leisure sectors to be set at 50% for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer.
• Non-domestic rates will be 49.8p in the pound, “delivering a below inflation uplift for the fourth year in a row”.
• Small businesses with a rateable value (RV) of less than £15,000, will continue to pay no rates for all of next year, irrespective of what sector they are in, through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.
• Income tax rates are unchanged. The starter and basic rate bands will increase in line with inflation. The higher and top rates will remain frozen at their current levels.
• Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) will maintain both residential and non-residential rates and bands at their current levels in 2022-23, and will launch a call for evidence and views on changing the Additional Dwellings Supplement (ADS).
• Increase to both the standard and lower rates of Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) from 1 April, to maintain consistency across the UK and support our ambitions for a more circular economy.

Also discussed in the Scottish Budget were the various funding announcements that aim to ‘secure a fairer, greener and more prosperous country’:

• £18 billion for Scotland’s health and social care sector with pay rise for social care staff, £1.2bn in funding for mental health, £2.5bn in funding to support patient services and creation of a new National Care Service.
• £544 million to deliver free funded early learning and childcare for three and four year olds, and two year olds from lower income households, while taking forward work to expand that to one year olds from low income households within this Parliament.
• More than £370 million to support our enterprise agencies and nearly £50 million to VisitScotland, to strengthen key sectors to promote innovation – and to achieve sustained success in new and emerging markets.
• £215 million in the Scottish National Investment Bank to help deliver its missions of supporting Scotland’s transition to net zero, building communities and promoting equality, and harnessing innovation.

There will also be an inflationary uplift of at least £775 to those earning up to £25,000, £700 to those earning between £25,000 and £40,000 and £500 to those earning above £40,000. A minimum wage floor of £10.50 per hour across all bodies covered by the pay policy, with specific funding to apply this for all social care staff.

You can read the full Scottish Budget 2022-23 statement here.

If you’d like to know what these announcements will mean for you and your business, please get in touch with your usual EQ contact or call one of our offices.