The owners of short-term let properties in Scotland’s capital are avoiding more than £10 million in taxes each year, a Green MSP has said.
Andy Wightman, the Lothian MSP, published research to coincide with the start of the festival season in Edinburgh as thousands of visitors descend on the city. The paper highlights that if properties are let for more than 140 days a year they become liable for non-domestic rates rather than council tax.
It estimates that of the 2,500 properties advertised for commercial letting that are available for more than 140 days a year across Edinburgh, about 1,250 are not paying non-domestic rates.
The analysis also takes into account the impact of the government’s small business bonus scheme, which exempts properties from business rates if they have a rateable value of less than £15,000. It shows that 83 per cent of short-term lets in Edinburgh that are declared for non-domestic rates have a rateable value below £15,000.
The paper calculates the combined lost revenue to be £10.6 million. Mr Wightman said: “There is no justification for short-term lets being exempted from paying £10.6 million in taxes to help meet the considerable costs of public services in Edinburgh.
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“Thanks to this scheme and the failure to declare properties as short-term lets, landlords, many of whom are overseas investors, profit from these services without contributing a penny.”