Glasgow business owner calls for business rates to be ditched as costs soar

Sarah Hilley
·2-min read

A West End Broomhill Launderette & Dry Cleaners shells out £1,700 on rates per month - adding to costs mounting to about £5,000 without even counting electricity.

Single mum Angela, who now runs her established family business, said there needed to be more public assistance to help shops thrive.

Angela said: "For a single woman running a business on her own and paying business rates etc it is very difficult. That is why I work seven days.

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"Depending on what month it is, business fluctuates. It is not as stable as it once was. Business rates need to be abolished."

Angela would alternatively welcome a reduction in rates and said assistance received during the pandemic was very welcome with grants distributed. She said money currently going on rates could be used to make other investments.

Angela said: "The money could be going to something else like buying a new eco friendly dry cleaning machine, new flooring, shop front and additional security."

With the cost of electricity, soap powder and other products, pressure continues to build on the shop.

And self service washing machines at petrol stations are creating new competition for traditional launderettes according to Angela.

She said: "You walk into a launderette and get a cup of tea and a cheery face. People are losing the personal touch since Covid. Even big businesses are struggling."

She has taken over running the family business and still gets support from her "inspirational" mum Nirmal Marwaha.

Glasgow west Conservative candidate Faten Hameed calls for the Scottish Government and local authorities to do more to support Angela and other small business owners.

Ms Hameed said: "If businesses are paying rates it should help the businesses not kill the businesses. We are seeing businesses close."

Commenting on the struggles facing Angela at the launderette, Ms Hameed added: "This is a woman working seven days a week. She is finding it difficult to cope.

"The rent is a killer for businesses. The business has been operating for many years. It should be stable now and not have to fight all the time."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “In total the Scottish Budget for 2024 to 2025 provided a package of reliefs for non-domestic rates worth an estimated £685 million, including the UK’s most generous small business rates relief.

"Scottish Ministers listened to the key ask of business organisations that called for no increase in the poundage and delivered a freeze to the Basic Property Rate, ensuring that over 95 per cent of non-domestic properties in Scotland continue to be are liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK for the sixth year in a row.”

Other candidates standing in Glasgow West include Labour's Patricia Ferguson, James Calder, Liberal Democrat, Carol Monaghan, SNP, Nick Quail, Greens, Dionne Moore, Reform, and John Cormack, Christian.

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