Scotland’s special levy to be scrapped in 2015

The Scottish Government has announced it will scrap its supplementary levy on supermarkets that sell alcohol when the legislation expires next year.

Scotland’s “special levy” on big retailers that sell alcohol and tobacco will not be renewed after 2015

The so-called “public health supplement” places a special tax on about 240 large retailers in the country that stock both alcohol and tobacco.

It was expected to raise £95 million between 2012 and 2015, however Scotland’s finance minister John Swinney, said that would not renew the temporary levy, news that has been welcomed by supermarket executives.

Paul Kelly, head of corporate affairs for Asda, told the Financial Times: “We are delighted that the Scottish Government has recognised how unfair this levy was in penalising large retailers.”

Large retailers angrily objected to the supplement tax when it was first introduced two years ago, claiming that business rates would stand at 28% higher than other UK supermarkets.

The Financial Times added that this announcement might ease tensions between the Scottish Government and large retailers after some chains expressed concern over this year’s referendum on Scottish independence.

The newspaper found that a number of supermarkets warned that should the country become independent, it would no longer have to adhere to the UK’s “national pricing policy” which monitors supermarket pricing and keeps it in line.

Executives have therefore said that they would consider raising prices to combat any negative effects on profits.