Its plea comes a week before the expected first debate and vote on the Scottish government’s Budget at Holyrood.
The SRC sent its detailed Budget recommendations paper to ministers and Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) in September. It contained suggestions for cutting the cost of government, delivering competitive taxes and regulation, and combating crime against retailers.
Last week, the SRC supplemented this with a letter to finance secretary Shona Robison to say that the sheer magnitude of the decision in the UK Budget on employer’s national insurance contributions had ‘fundamentally altered the outlook’, as it would add £190m each year to Scottish retailers’ costs.
The SRC says the tax hike will have a disproportionate impact on the retail industry, which is Scotland’s largest private sector employer.
Director of the SRC David Lonsdale said: “The parliamentary arithmetic suggests that more than one political party will have to support the Scottish Budget this year.
“While MSPs will rightly and robustly scrutinise the Scottish government’s tax and spending plans, it is vital that politics doesn’t get in the way of ensuring a Budget that delivers for Scotland’s businesses.
“In these unsettling times when growth is weak, retail sales are flatlining and taxes and other statutory costs are spiralling, businesses crave certainty and predictability.
“We therefore hope Scottish ministers will bring forward a pragmatic pro-business Budget that doesn’t unfairly increase the cost of doing business and prioritises competitive business taxes.
“In return, that should maximise the chance of a collegiate approach amongst government and opposition MSPs which would ensure that a pro-growth and business-friendly Budget can be passed quickly without delay.
“Any failure to pass a Budget in good time would add a thick layer of uncertainty at an already challenging time for retail.
“We hope our political parties will collectively rise to the challenge.”
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