Andy Wightman MSP, Lothian

Recent appearances

Scottish Parliament: Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 10 Oct 2019

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Do I have five minutes or six?
Scottish Parliament: Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 10 Oct 2019

I will not. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I note that this is the first time that the Scottish Parliament has considered primary legislation on non-domestic rates. Indeed, there has been no reform in more than a quarter of a century, since the Local Government Finance Act 1992. That is very telling. It demonstrates how little interest there has been in Parliament in local tax and how much...
Scottish Parliament: Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 10 Oct 2019

This might seem to be a pedantic point, but the member has persistently referred to “business rates”. He and I are members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, and I do not think that he regards us as business people in that respect. I have just looked it up and found that this building has a rateable value of £6,965,000. The non-domestic rating system is a rating system of the...