SNP must heed warning: action on rates is urgent

That in itself should be a red-flag to ministers at Holyrood. But add to that the fact that business rates are set for a significant rise, and it is clear many firms will struggle to survive.

Read more: Businesses warn they will 'bleed to death' because of SNP's 'Victorian-era taxation policies'

As Colin Borland, FSB Scotland Director, tells us today: “It is a story we are hearing again and again, from the local sports shop which is shelving plans to take on an extra member of staff and the neighbourhood cafe which is being forced to let staff go to the local gym which is wondering whether it will still be open come the end of next year.

“The rates relief that has been extended in recent weeks has helped ease some of that pressure, but for most businesses it is simply putting off an inevitable reckoning rather than taking the problem away."

The organisation is calling on all of Scotland’s political parties to commit to continuing the “lifeline” Small Business Bonus Scheme and to review eligibility thresholds to ensure it continues to support small businesses.

It comes as MSPs are again set to debate the Budget in Holyrood this week. With an election on the horizon, this may seem like a formality. Any new government, after all, is likely to have its own emergency financial statement.

But it is an important opportunity for all MSPs to show they are on the side of Scotland’s hard-pressed small business, and demand concrete action to ensure their survival.

The most important intervention the Scottish Government can make to influence a range of factors – from poverty to under pressure local authority services – is to encourage growth. A growing economy will pay the country dividends. Stifling business – big and small – through taxation or other policies will only make the task harder, locking Scotland into a downward spiral of rising costs and decline.

Politicians of all colours should heed the warnings today, and take firm action.