OUR revelation today that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has successfully appealed her rates bill for her Scottish shooting estates is the latest report we have done on the issue of wealthy landowners challenging their rates bills for country sporting activities.
In December we told how an island estate owned by the aristocratic family of a former Tory MP had its deer stalking taxes slashed in a move which sees its rateable value (RV) cut to less than that of the community’s primary school.
The move meant that landowner Islay Estates, owned by Wiltshire-based Lord Margadale, pays lower rates for the controversial country sporting activity on his large property than some locals are charged for other tourist activities.
Deer stalking on Margadale’s land was initially given an annual rateable value of £72,500. But the estate appealed the RV and it was reduced to £13,000. In contrast, Port Ellen Primary School on Islay was given a rateable value of £29,250.
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Two hotels in Port Ellen were given a rateable value of £27,000, while Machrie Golf Course in the town saw its RV rise to £20,000 – after appealing a valuation of £13,600.
Our report on Margadale’s appeal followed an earlier expose we did in December on the Duke of Buccleuch’s appeal. The Duke had the bill on his sporting estate cut by around £25,000 after a successful appeal.
His advisers challenged the rateable value given to shooting and stalking rights on the Queensberry Estate at Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway as well as those of three other sporting properties.
Assessors had initially set the rateable value for country sports at the Queensberry Estate at £71,500, but after the appeal it was slashed to £23,200.
The non-domestic tax rates bill is worked out by a formula which multiplies the RV with the poundage rate, set by the Scottish Government – currently 49.8 pence for properties with a RV of up to £51,000 and 51.1 pence for those with a RV of more than £51,000.
The calculation means that the annual rates bill for country sports on the Queensberry Estate would have been £36,536.50, but after the successful appeal the new bill would now be £11,553.60 – a reduction of £24,982.
Benny Higgins is the executive chairman of Buccleuch, who is also an adviser to the Scottish Government on building a fairer economy.
Andy Wightman MSP (left) said at the time: “It’s ironic that the person now responsible for quibbling the fair share of business rates on behalf of Buccleuch, Benny Higgins, is the same man advising the First Minister on a fair and green recovery. If we are to truly have a green recovery, we need reform in the way land is taxed and we need to redistribute power over land in the public interest.”
Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “The ratings process for the reintroduction of non-domestic rates on sporting rights was a huge undertaking for the assessor to complete in a short timeframe and we consistently warned that owners of all types of land including family farms, crofts, nature reserves and others would be caught up in this procedure – not just large estates.
“The initial ratings were largely formulated via a desktop exercise by the assessor. This led to significant problems in the rateable values applied, which took no account of local circumstances or deer management issues, and therefore resulted in a significant number of appeals being entered and corrections made.
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“It should be noted that business premises across every sector will have a rateable value applied to property. Those rateable values remain in place even when rates do not need to be paid, for example, when rates relief has been extended to retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses this week by the Scottish Government.
“Non-domestic rates on sporting rights are applied solely to sporting activity on an estate. Other business activities on an estate will be subject to additional forms of rates.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for the Assessors, who are wholly independent of central and local government.
“The Scottish Government has no locus to intervene in that process and owners, tenants and occupiers have the right of appeal if they disagree with the valuation of their property.”
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